FIFTY3FRIDAYS: JOLLY ROGERS
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Since moving from South West London to rural Surrey, I am starting to explore opportunities to hear live music within Surrey/Sussex/Hants rather than schlepping up to town to familiar venues across the city. Last Thursday evening found us in Havant at the Spring Arts & Heritage Centre, a creative hub hosting music, comedy, art, workshops, a museum and theatre all under one roof. We were here to see singer, songwriter and guitarist Hollie Rogers, decked out in orange, perform in the compact and comfortable theatre space. No pirate songs but a jolly show it was too!
Photos of Hollie Rogers & Ed Blunt at Spring Arts & Heritage Centre by Kevin England
Accompanying herself on guitar and joined by the admirable Ed Blunt on keyboards, Hollie Rogers showed her versatility hopping across musical styles within her set of original material and entertaining the audience with her jolly banter between songs. Often Ed was the butt of gentle ribbing but there was a goodly dose of self-deprecation to balance this too. Ed is a fine singer-songwriter in his own right as demonstrated in a solo spot while Hollie went off allegedly to get a Snickers! Hollie’s rich, powerful voice adapts perfectly to suit the mood of each song; poppy with overtones of Carole King or Elton John on a couple, bluesy and soulful on others with a dash of country and folk in the mix too.
“He Reminds Me Of You” is the final single from Hollie's 2026 album, Everything's Fine. Hollie sang it with passion while, on this occasion, acoustic guitar and keyboard were quite enough to drive the song through the gears. By way of contrast, I’ve picked out “The Coast Road” from Hollie’s second album, Criminal Heart, to show another aspect of the artist’s sensibilities. This song recalls her native Cornwall and favourite journeys along the county’s dramatic coastal roads. Sung live, she included a verse in Cornish language, not that any further authenticity was really necessary. It was a fabulous show equally enjoyed by committed fans and those new to her music.
Staying with the ‘jolly’ theme, our old friends The Happy Somethings have a new album out today. Music from the East Midlands trio of Happy, Joy and (yes) Jolly is always a delight and this new record is no exception. With 12 tracks including earlier singles “Heaven Is Divine” and “Consolation Street”, the album title seems to sum up The Happy’s characteristic world view: A Healthy Dose Of Hope. The songs were “recorded in our usual chaotic way and hang together untidily through their lo-fi sticky aural dust” in the self-effacing words of the band. Despite the ever-increasing troubles besetting our world, there are always reasons to be cheerful; a realistic positivity that can be applied in dire situations.
Closing the record, the Happys get all funky with “Figure It Out”. It’s a while since I heard much wah-wah guitar and a healthy dose of it here gives the opening third of the song a nice 70s feel while Joy leads the urgings to figure stuff out. Just when you’re getting down on getting down, there is a lovely, reflective bridge-like chorus which reaffirms that things are what they are and it is the future that counts. I love the episodic verse-chorus structure employed here and it works, folks, I’ve figured it out. The whole record is a treat. Like all the band’s music you can download it from Bandcamp free of charge or pay what you want to help keep the music flowing. So… go, name your price, now!
New music site Fresh On The Net may be on summer break now till September but I still need to wrap up my choices in the last issue of Alt Picks. First up is Aderyn. I have always enjoyed her music and it was a treat when “Please” popped into the final FOTN Inbox in July. Sacred imagery abounds in this emotive paean to obsessive love from the Welsh indie songstress. Her devotion in this song though is acknowledged as a thoroughly bad religion; a fixation taken to extremes. There is a sad beauty to her realisations, echoed by hollow, slacker guitar and the singer’s softly confessional vocals. The splashes of keyboards near the end add colour to cement her acceptance of what might have been obvious. This is a grower that would easily fit into the canon of, say, a Soccer Mommy or Snail Mail
In contrast to Aderyn, I knew nothing of Snuggle Ninja when its track, “Destiny” arrived in the same FOTN Inbox. After much searching, I still don’t know that much about the band other than it is a duo from Manchester and “Destiny” is from a 3-track EP titled Fields. Plus, this: “Snuggle Ninja is best described as a fruity blend of synth pop, electro bleeps and pops, with a dash of post punk that will make you dance and smile.” Got that. On “Destiny”, the looping synth instantly draws you into the track, wrapping its circular melody round your ears like aural balm. The vocals get a little submerged in the loveliness of it all so I am not absolutely sure of the ‘destiny’ of travel. It’s really all about the journey with dream pop stylings you can absolutely lose yourself in and feel refreshed from the experience. Snuggle up.
Photo of Freya Everest by Tom Everest
We close this week with London-based singer-songwriter and producer Freya Everest who delighted us in May with her very first single, the dark yet beautifully realised “Moniqué”. I am delighted that she is back with a follow up in the shape of the intriguingly titled “Honey TV”. Whereas her debut song examined exposure and objectification, the new single turns this on its head to consider the safety and affection felt when truly at home. Lyrically it moves between the flighty and the visceral, drenched in warm love yet able to quietly question a world increasingly disconnected from what really matters. Freya’s harmony laced vocals set the seal on another imaginative and melodic offering.
Haven’t quite finished! On the first Friday of every month, I publish a Playlist on Spotify which reprises all the songs included in this column over the previous month – in order, should you wish to check! The latest F3F Spotify Playlist features 27 tracks and is longer than usual as it contains the whole of the Close To The Edge album by Yes (dusted off last Friday).
You can listen to the Playlist here, or head to Spotify @TonyHardy53, for this one and many more of its kindred. Our Fifty3 Fridays Spotify Playlist July 2026 opens with the feisty “Like A Tiger” from Brighton’s Cello and closes with the muscular “Siberian Khatru” from the aforementioned Yes album.
Enjoy!
