Passenger - The Arches Glasgow, 19th January

Virtually unknown on the music scene until recent of late, Passenger aka Mike Rosenburg, admits that the last gig he headlined in Glasgow was in front of a mere seventeen people. Fast forward six months and Passenger is headlining a sold out show in The Arches due to hard work and determination. With a little help from his fellow musician friends, he secured a massive gig at the end of 2012 supporting Ed Sheeran on his sold out UK tour and this put him firmly on the list for up and coming music acts of 2013. The crowd in The Arches erupts when Passenger shouts “How many of you saw me supporting Ed Sheeran?!” and I must admit if it wasn’t for Ed Sheeran I wouldn’t be at this gig either.

     Previously a five piece band, Passenger broke up in 2009 with Mike carrying on the band name and becoming a solo act. Being a solo act suits his musical style much better as he played the entire gig acoustically and sometimes played to the crowd ‘unplugged’ without the use of a guitar amp of a mic. The stillness of the crowd as they listen intently to love songs such as ‘Caravan’ and ‘I See Love’ is remarkable. Hanging onto every lyric he whispers, it’s difficult to imagine how these songs would have as much power if there was a full band behind him.

     However the more upbeat songs definitely derive from Passengers latest album ‘All the Little Lights’. Mike funded the album and recorded it himself, releasing it in 2011 to much deserved critical acclaim. The single ‘Let Her Go’ and ‘Life’s For the Living’ are met with the best response from the crowd. Although originally from England, Mike does a lot of his song writing in Glasgow and ‘Feather on the Clyde’ is always a crowd pleaser in Scotland and this is debatably why his Scottish fans like him so much. Having a way with words, Mike charms his way through the entire gig. Clearly humbled that so many people have bought tickets to see him, he admits it’s been a struggle to get where he is today and included a lot of humour throughout his entire set including the song ‘I Hate’. A tongue-in-cheek track that was never meant to be taken seriously is a frank take on everything he hates including The X Factor, magazines, racist men and festival toilets. No matter how many times it is played, the audience laughs along and it proves that there are still some talented original songwriters left in today’s music industry.