SammyJo came to our attention when several of her tracks embedded themselves at the top end of the tourdates.co.uk unsigned chart.

She operates in the world of polished, Stateside power pop, a genre in which acts are not so much born organically as created by vile Cowell-esque moguls with both eyes on the bottom line. SammyJo, on the other hand, appears to have emerged fully formed with an album full of self-penned chart-ready, melodic stompers. That she has emerged fully formed at the age of 21 and from Chesterfield (for pity’s sake!) suggests an exceptional talent.

Her solo debut gig bears this out. With an armour-plated self -confidence and a set of bellows that are surpassed only by her ear for a tune, she marshalls her ultra-tight three-piece band through forty minutes of material that middle Americal will be humming along to any time soon. It’s not a fashionable genre, but SammyJo does it as well as anyone in Europe at the moment.

Richard Hodkinson
Photo: londontourpix