"I started off the year playing to 100 of you at the Poetry Club. Then 300 at King Tuts and now ... now 600 of you are here with me in Saint Lukes ... it's mad ... Thank you so much."
Kyle Mercer was visibly moved on stage at Saint Luke's in Glasgow last night. No wonder. Just over a year ago Kerr was the opening act in the venue for Tenement Trail. I was fortunate to catch him on that wet and windy day last October and you would have been lucky if there was a tenth of last nights crowd in.
"Thanks again for coming. I nearly came on stage at 7.30 tonight as that's when I'm usually on."
There is a lovely dash of humility and cheek about Kerr when he chats between songs. He took the time to record a video message to a fan who had unfortunately dislocated her knee (after arriving early at the venue) and missed the show, also promising to put her on the guestlist for his next Glasgow show.
And he also half-joked about seeing us all at the Barrowland (across the road) next year. That seems the next logical step up for the teenager who has yet to release his debut single. Kerr also promised us that was coming soon and that he didn't want to be the person that played 7 million gigs without releasing something.
Having followed Kerr's journey and heard him introduce lots of new songs to his set, in addition to keeping some firm favourites, I am intrigued to see what he goes with. It could have been any single one from last nights set!
Kerr was on stage at 9pm sharp, opening with a song that may or may not be called I'll Be Your Soldier. His voice soared effortlessly, he was straight into it, absolutely incredible.
Jealous followed. I mentioned earlier on that Kerr was moved on stage, now his songs and voice were moving people in the audience. Gazing around, you could see people nudging their friends and nodding as Mercer stretched his vocal chords to really go for it. The melody already sounds familiar, this could be coming out of your radio next year.
Waves was another new song that I hadn't heard before, the chorus and lyrics seem instantly relatable. Petals generated an incredible response from the crowd with Kerr's guitarist also playing a kick bass drum which encouraged the audience to clap along.
Die While I Remember and One In A Million were more mellow, tugging on heartstrings in all the right ways. Mercer's songs have a beautiful, soulful and melancholic feel to them. There is a sadness, but there is a very powerful connection between him and whoever is watching him sing. It's quite something to witness and feel.
Adam Frame was excellent on guitar, allowing Kerr to switch from standing up to sing some songs, then sitting behind his electric piano for others. The two work so naturally together. It feels like a treat to hear these songs played in this way and to see them work so effortlessly together.
Given the fact that Kerr has yet to release anything, Mercer had asked his Instagram fans to choose a cover for him to play and they voted for Sabrina Carpenter's ace Please, Please, Please, a big favourite in our house. The pure pop song was stripped back and sounded sublime.
Carry Me Home was introduced as being 'the only song that I wrote when I was 15 that I still play, the rest were all sh*te' and as Kerr started, while sat at his electric piano, a mini choir of 3 backing singers came on stage to join him. They were definitely backing! As Kerr's voice soared, they were almost redundant. But when Mercer's voice dropped a little, you could hear what they were adding to the song and it was quite beautiful. I left the show imagining how massive this song could sound when (if it hasn't been already) it is recorded in the studio. Strings and choir ... oooft. It will be huge.
Closing with Never Be You, with the choir backing him and the crowd clapping along, my wife and I left to pick up our car round the back of the Barrowland and we both felt like the next time we see Kerr in Glasgow he could be playing there.
Kerr has sold out his first headline tour; playing Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester in the week ahead. Keep an eye on his Instagram.
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