Manchester, 27 March 2004

Kate Rogers is a Canadian currently signed to Grand Central, a Manchester, England label steeped exclusively in urban/dance music. I received a two-track sampler of this singer/songwriter’s mild country work, and as a lover of this type of music decided to attend the first concert that took place in my local area. I’m pleased I did.

A Saturday night in Manchester is far from an ideal time to visit the city, and especially after a Manchester football derby. In a word, it was bedlam, with car parking impossible to secure without endless city-circling. It was also club night so every young Mancunian had descended on that part of the city to booze and boogie. The Life Cafe turned out to be an island of calm in the eye of a storm, or so it appeared for the first two support acts for the night. While I waited for the appearance of the night’s main attraction I asked a couple of punters about Kate Rogers who they had come exclusively to see. I can report that Rogers has made many friends during a period of low key performances around the locality. One lovely young female Manchester Metropolitan University student (who thankfully rolled a smoke for me after I discovered that a pack of 16 cost £5.50 from one of those ‘robbery with violence’ dispensers) told me how much she liked Rogers who was,“a really nice person.”

Some ten minutes before Rogers appeared the venue was awakened from its slumber as fans arrived in droves. Rogers appeared to ready the stage for her performance and looked like one of those hometown American girls you see serving up burgers in movies. This blonde, fresh-faced artist was dressed in what looked like a waitress uniform, and religiously made sure drinks and equipment were prepared for her excellent backing band. She was looking after the boys, and this care and humility was carried through to the performance. I could see why she had attracted a strong following – she’s a very nice and natural young lady.

The sampler that I had received was pleasant but uninspiring. With so many great singer/songwriters around at the moment, especially from the States, it’s a competitive market which requires something pretty special and distinctive to attract me. Rogers sailed through her performance after getting her fans to migrate forward within inches of the small stage, and despite several technical problems. She is above all an intimate communicator whose songs, while lacking power, are gentle, and expressive self-explorations. Rogers also possesses a fine voice but one that lacks the edge to force me to ‘stand to attention.’

But she has something which is special, and that is her ability to connect with an audience and hold on very tight. While I questioned the songs, I could not question the fact that the audience loved her and showed it with vigorous enthusiasm. I hope that her debut album delivers the sort of goods that will inspire me, because Kate Rogers is a worker who deserves to survive and succeed. Time will tell.