The Tilting Sky presents Riddle review: An exceptional evening of local talent

Slick Division at The Adrian Flux Waterfront in Norwich. Picture Daniel Smith. (Image: Archant)

Although many of the artists that took to the stage have played numerous gigs around the county, this was their first foray into playing one of the major music venues in East Anglia.

First to take to the stage was Lydia Lee, a month on from playing the VIP stage at Sundown Festival, Lee played people in with her acoustic covers of popular crowd-pleasers.

Lee is a great performer who seemed very confident playing to the emerging crowd that had turned up to catch the support acts.

Next to perform was Slick Division, two brothers Josh and Jonny Cooper hailing from Lowestoft. Bringing a fuller sound to the room and a high energy set, they encouraged the crowd forward. With Jonny manning the loop-pad and Josh on guitar, the brothers created a unique electro-pop sound with their vocal harmonies working together perfectly.

You could see the Slick boys having fun on stage and the crowd were drawn in by their enthusiasm. Ditching their usual mix of original songs and popular covers, they opted to play only originals spanning their three EP releases. The catchy hooks of their original tracks still seemed to do the trick as the crowd were happily singing along.

Despite announcing that both the brothers were feeling a little under the weather, the boys put on a solid set that left the crowd wanting more.

Local act Ordel, real name Grant Ley, was next to take to the stage. Ley is no stranger to the venues of Norwich, however this was his first live show as Ordel.

Ordel brought a more serious tone to the room, a complete contrast to Slick Division's more upbeat set. Ordel conversed with the crowd and told stories of struggles with mental health. These stories carried into his songs and created a more sombre feel to his performance.

A lot of Ordel's songs, although telling a great story, were of a similar tempo. A few faster paced songs would have made the set a more dynamic and interesting. Despite this, you could not tell it was Ordel's first show, with his final song "First Love" prompting the crowd to sing along with its catchy chorus and chants.

The headline act Riddle, hailing from Lowestoft, took to the stage at 9pm and by now the Waterfront was nearly at capacity.

From the beginning of his set to the very end Riddle brought a huge amount of energy, filling the stage with his presence and seemingly loving every minute on stage. The crowd recognised this and gave Riddle a huge amount of energy and appreciation back, singing out his catchy choruses and infectious rhythms.

Riddle's original tracks Who You Are, Freedom, and his final song Lovesick being particular highlights of his impressive set.

The evening was a brilliant showcase of local music, with talented artists delivering an eclectic mix of genres and styles, all for the incredibly reasonable cover price of £6. If you are looking for a cheap night of local breakthrough artists, The Tilting Sky events are a perfect way of discovering new regional talent.