They say that a show at the legendary Empire Music Hall never disappoints, Tramp went above and beyond the statement and delivered a triumphant, electrifying, and overall magical night that, I’m sure, many of the punters in attendance will not forget.
Starting the night was the fantastic Martha Greer backed by Fionnbarr Doran on lead guitar, who made his first appearance of the night later playing with Tramp further on in the evening, Cerys Zirit on the bass, and Kirsten Brown playing the synth. Martha captured the crowd with her melodic melodies, clean chorus-sounding guitar riffs, and magnetic backing synth sounds which created songs that echoed the vibes of a soundtrack belonging to a coming-of-age film from the mid-noughties. Setting the tone for the rest of the evening, Martha Greer understood the assignment and delivered a melancholic, beautiful, and, quite honestly, brilliant set that got everyone talking.
Following Martha Greer, the vibe shifted to the energetic rock anthems performed by the great Monday’s Child. Monday’s child consists of sisters Jennifer, Clara, and Lauren Mckay as well as a friend of the family Caitlin Lenfestey backing the band on the drums. Laurens’s Vocals were a particular highlight of the show demonstrating excellent prowess and harshness that fit the songs to the tea and were excellently complemented by the harmonies and back-up vocals from Jennifer. The whole band had the crowd in the palm of their hand from start to finish, getting people to listen intently to the vocals while also being able to fully enjoy the music, as any fantastic set should be. The profound sadness of the lyrics added an extra dimension to the storytelling on show from the band which stuck with me, as I’m sure it stuck with the rest of the audience, for days following the gig and continued the themes of growing and change which was on show throughout the whole evening.
Finally, after two unbelievable sets from Martha and Monday’s child, the pressure was on for Tramp to take the stage and leave the night on a high. I can comfortably say Tramp did not disappoint. Led by, Siânna Lafferty, Tramp is a 4-piece therapy rock, genre-queer band rooted from Donegal. Releasing their debut EP, Bimbofication in October of 2024, Tramp tackled themes of inequalities, prejudice, and war which in today’s political landscape need to be discussed. They did not shy away from these themes at the Empire starting the set by bringing out an “Israeli warplanes out of Antrim” sign that remained there for the rest of the night, fully cementing their views, as well as taking an interlude from the heavy hitting music to read out a poem, read beautifully by Siânna Lafferty, that captured the audience’s attention and successfully portrayed Tramp’s message for the evening.
On top of the messages that need to be deliberated, the musicianship on display from every member of the band was truly something to behold. Steamy McCay played the drums to perfection building great suspense with kick drum patterns and alongside Steamy, Ellie McFadden became one with the bass guitar and knew exactly how to compliment the drums to create a perfect in-sync rhythm section. Fionnbarr Doran took the stage for the second time in the evening and added fuzzy, distorted, phenomenal guitar riffs to the equation that left me in awe. Then, the icing on the cake was the unbelievably powerful vocals from the never disappointing Siânna Lafferty who had the crowd under the control of the band from start to finish. A personal highlight of the evening was the performance of their song “The Birds (Lowered Suspension)”. This song perfectly highlights everything great about Tramp, the messages and themes that are the heart of the band are fully on display here.
Tramp managed to capture the attention and the ears of the audience and provided us all with a night of important discussions, subjects and above all else, music that kept my attention and kept me thinking all the way home. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this magnificent 4 piece.
