Gig Review: UEA MPS' Unsigned/Live @ The Waterfront
- Max Gowers
- May 7
- 4 min read
On Tuesday 6th May, UEA's Music Production Society (MPS) hosted an event in the Waterfront that showcased the brightest and most exciting talent from the university's community. Max Gowers, Livewire's Head of Online, attended and photographed the show, and tells us about the experience.
I've been in and around Norwich for nearly three years now - and last night, at a gig in the upstairs of the legendary Adrian Flux Waterfront, I witnessed something that will stick in my mind for a very long time. I felt part of something unbelievably special. I felt part of a community, one of such immense passion.
Unsigned/Live was put together by UEA's Music Production Society. They give a space for underground and talented musicians of any skill level and genre to collaborate and create, and this event showcased that. Over the course of three hours, and fourteen acts, I got to witness some of UEA's most exciting musical talent. Each act had ten minute sets, and some used that to play two or three songs, whilst others like two-piece Ali and Jared chose to perform a single track (their choice being Lynyrd Skynyrd's iconic "Freebird".
I was lucky enough to photograph the event, and I had an absolute blast doing so. Throughout the night I alternated between weaving through the crowd being right up by the barrier, and taking the occasional breather outside to slip into the dressing room and get some behind the scenes. I took over 400 photos, and ended up with so many I was proud of.
As for the music... wow. Just wow. From rap to rock to R&B to pop to acoustic, all bases were covered. Each act was introduced by hosts Eezy and Kev (who also performed), so it wasn't a shock that Eezy had nearly lost his voice when we caught up in the dressing room after the show!
The sense of these musicians supporting their peers was so apparent just from how the event operated. Performers would be watching and supporting others, only dipping away momentarily when it was time to do their set. And once they were done, they'd leave the stage and head immediately back into the crowd, and be met with hugs and congratulations from friends. There was no star power or unreachable nature to these artists - if you thought their performance was great, they were a few steps away, and you could tell them that.
There's too many sets to pick a favourite - but two stood out to me as bringing the most energy - Eezy and Dazar.
Eezy's set was a blast. Playing the tracks "WARM", "4 Love/Lust", "FEELS BAD" and "DUTCHIE", he had the crowd rapt on his every lyric. He even dedicated one track to his girlfriend, passing her some roses over the barrier and pulling off a hoodie to reveal an "I ❤️ MY GIRLFRIEND" t-shirt underneath, which made me smile at how cleverly planned it was.
Dazar's set was the closer, and ended the night perfectly. After playing some originals from an upcoming EP, he wowed the crowd with an electric cover of "Feel No Ways" by Drake. You could look around and see so many people singing and dancing along - it was such a moment.
It's hard to not at least mention every single act that performed. Beautiful stripped-back performances from May, Sparrow and Becca, hip-hop from Eezy, Kev and Dazar, sparkling pop and R&B from Sophie-Rose, Kali and Neonheon, and electrifying rock from Ali and Jared, The Aide and Pink Serene. The breadth and variety of talent on show absolutely blew me away.
My time at university is, as much as I try to not think about it - nearing its end. So I'm going to make it my task in the year and a month I have left in and around Norwich to make sure I can connect with as many local events as possible - whether those are gigs or just community events. Last night was an absolute blast, and reminded me of how important community and shared passion for art can be. Live music is so important, and I urge you to go and experience it, big or small, in any capacity.
But to end out? I'll leave you with a moment that stuck with me - a quote from a short monologue given by rapper Dazar as the night drew to and end.
"Art can never be contained, you can't put us in a box [...] Music is spiritual, it connects us all, y'know. It's a natural frequency that we're all born in, we're all tap-dancing around the same globe, around the same sun. [...] Explore, 'cause... they try to dumb us down. We're all artistic people here, they try to put us in a box - don't get put in a box in this life, that's so important. I gotta scream it from the rooftops, because, again, all of us here are influential, y'know, we gotta tap in [...] This means more to me, and this means more to you."