By Jolene Rae-Walsh –
Last Saturday saw the King’s Head host the fantastic Huddersfield-based band Tribal Shoots.
The King’s Head is a great venue for live music, with a beautiful tiled floor throughout, a good space for dancing, a friendly & helpful team serving drinks, and the train station is on the doorstep with the bus station 2 minutes up the road. I also love that their sign outside is of Jimmy Hendrix!
Tribal Shoots is made up of Simon on the Djembe, Cecil on a rather sophisticated-looking drum kit, and Julie B on vocals.
They successfully perform a range of Reggae, Ska, and African Rhythms fused into a vibrant blend. Their influences are Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown, Sugar Minott and John Legend, to name a few.
Before the performance, I had the pleasure of interviewing the lead singer of the band, Julie B.
Julie has been singing with Tribal Shoots for several years now, and she says that Lockdown provided the space and time to work on her creativity as the lead singer of the band. She thinks that Kirklees Year of Music 2023 is going well so far, but she voiced that there should be more funding available for local artists to develop their musical careers.
When asked, ‘Where is your favourite venue to perform at in Huddersfield?’ Julie responded that ‘The Smile Bar gig was one of our highlights.’
Many of the songs Tribal Shoots performed during their first set were classics, such as Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry, which they opened proceedings with, so we audience members were encouraged to sing along, which was lovely.
Julie B was donning vibrant pink flares, shining brightly as she vibed with her fellow musicians and the audience wonderfully.
I really loved her enthusiasm and sparkle on stage. It was great to see the Djembe, one of my favourite instruments, being played in the band. And Cecil on the sophisticated drum kit was incredible. The lead microphone could have done with being turned up a little, but that’s an issue I often find with live music; the music can sometimes drown out the vocals.
But, on the whole, this was a fabulous event, and I really look forward to seeing Tribal Shoots perform again in the not-too-distant future.
The King’s Head: 18 St George’s Square, Huddersfield. HD1 1JF.