Live Music, Long Trains, and a Guitar Pick I’ll Never Forget

Last updated: June 7, 2026

In this blog article i’ll continue where i left off from the last blog. If you haven’t seen that one yet you can get there from here.

Scarlett Fae, Sylvia Mwenze, and Hutch

We went to another intimate show the first week in Brighton which was featuring Scarlett Fae and Sylvia Mwenze. If those names ring a bell, it might be because they appear as backup vocalists in Ren’s “Back on 74 / Message in a Bottle” video. Scarlett has her own music career, and the woman has a voice that stops you in your tracks. The venue was small, the kind of room where you feel every note.

I got to briefly talk to both Scarlett and Sylvia afterward. Both of them are deeply passionate about what they’re doing, and it was really special to connect with them even briefly. Photos and video from that night are below.

One of the other artists on the bill that evening was someone called Hutch. He’s just starting out, has a handful of YouTube videos, and I fell in love with his sound almost immediately. One song in particular was about his nan, and what I took from it was this quiet, honest reckoning with loss. I felt that in my bones. Losing family members over the years leaves marks on you, and hearing someone channel that into something so beautiful is one of those moments that reminds you why live music matters.

I subscribed to all his socials right then and there. I’m genuinely excited to follow where he goes from here and hopeful I’ll get to see him again when I’m back in Brighton in August for the Ren festivals.

The In-Between Days in Brighton

There were a couple of slower days between these shows and the Bristol trip, and I want to be honest: I really needed them.

I spent those days wandering slowly through the Lanes, sitting at cafes, running into other Renegades, and just letting Brighton do its thing. No agenda. No rushing. The first half of the UK trip was cold, around 50 degrees Fahrenheit with a coastal breeze, which was not exactly my preference. But the second half flipped completely. Sunny, warm, genuinely hot. I picked up a bit of a tan just walking around. It was a different city in the warmth.

One of those days happened to coincide with The Great Escape festival. It’s a multi-day music festival spread across venues all throughout Brighton, the kind of event where you pick up a wristband and spend the day wandering from room to room. I only went for one day, specifically to catch Jos Rivers and The Skinner Brothers, both playing at different local venues.

I hadn’t planned around Ren being there. But if you think about it, it makes complete sense that he’d show up for The Skinner Brothers. They did collab album, Sick Sick Soul together and Brighton is his world. Sure enough, there he was in the audience.

And then it happened: After a lot of urging from Zack, Ren took the mic and sang his part of “So The Story Goes” with them. I caught a clip of here:

Getting to Bristol (A Lesson in Planning)

I did not plan the Brighton to Bristol leg well. At all.

We all decided to travel the day of the show, not realizing how long the train journey actually is. About three hours, give or take. So it became a very long day very quickly.

And then there was the luggage situation.

I had deliberately brought everything I thought I might need for the full year-long sabbatical, using this trip as a test run. It was too much. The bags were extremely heavy, and in Bristol I was dragging them up a narrow, steep stairwell to the fifth floor of the hotel (which the British insist on calling the fourth floor, but I refuse to participate in a system where the ground floor is floor zero).

The hotel was cheap, around $50 USD a night, and honestly fine for one night of sleep. But the stair situation with that much luggage was not fun.

This trip taught me something important: I really do not need to bring everything. While I was there, I barely touched a lot of what I packed. When I leave in August, I need to reassess, pack lighter, and trust that if I need something I can find it in the country I’m in. Pack the essentials. Leave the rest.

The Big Push: Bristol

I was the first of my friend group to arrive at the queue, which meant I had some time to meet people before the show. That’s where I met Sarah and her brother. Sarah is one of those people you feel like you’ve known for years within the first 10 minutes. We got along immediately, and I’ll have more to say about her in a future post (including a tattoo story I’m still smiling about).

I also finally got to meet Roxy in person, a Facebook fan I’d known of but hadn’t met face to face. She’s a ceramic artist, so we hit it off immediately talking about pottery. Small world in the best way.

The show itself was incredible. We were near the front, on Romain’s side of the stage, which is where I try to position myself if I can.

Here’s the moment I’ll remember forever.

At the end of the show, Romain was throwing guitar picks out into the crowd. We made eye contact. I gestured. He threw one toward me. I missed the catch, and it dropped behind the barrier, into the pit where I couldn’t reach it.

Romain got off the stage, jumped into the pit, picked up the pick, and handed it to me personally.

I mean. Come on. That’s everything. I will never forget that. During the Brighton show i got to meet Romain again and asked him to sign the pick which he graciously did for me.

After the show, we gathered outside hoping to catch the band on their way out. Romain and Gorran came out first. Got photos with both of them. Grateful doesn’t begin to cover it.

Ren came out and the crowd understandably lost it. I was close to the barrier, so I had a shot at an interaction. There was one fan nearby whose boyfriend was shouting things at Ren, things I won’t repeat here but that landed a little awkward in the moment. I noticed Ren seemed to naturally avoid that general area after that. I don’t blame him at all. People get excited and sometimes that energy tips sideways. It happens.

(I do eventually get to meet Ren, at the Brighton show. That’s its own post and its own moment entirely.)

We stayed outside for a while longer hoping for a second window. I got to see Josh and got a photo with him, spotted Kai and Samuel Perry-Falvey in the distance. But I was freezing, starting to feel something building in my sinuses, and decided to call it. Jumped in an Uber, went back to the hotel, slept.

London: Recovery Mode

The next morning I packed up and headed to London for the weekend. The plan had been sightseeing, walking around, the usual. And some of that happened. I did meet some former colleagues from over 20 years ago for dinner, which was genuinely special. I also saw a show on the West End, which was a nice anchor for the weekend.

But honestly? Most of my London time was recovery. I slept in. I walked slowly. I went to the pharmacy and tracked down the good Sudafed, the kind that lives behind the counter. That helped, though I stayed a bit stuffed up for the rest of the UK trip. The cold weather and my apparent reluctance to wear a jacket eventually caught up with me. Lesson learned, I think.

After the long weekend, I headed back to Brighton for the next main event: the Brighton show at CHALK.

If you’re enjoying this BLOG series and want to read the next installment A Renegade’s walking tour of Brighton