I first set eyes on Jamie Yost at a boutique festival in Denbury in 2017, Sarah Gosling (BBC Introducing) was excitedly telling me about some ‘new kids on the block’ that I should check out and Jamie’s name was amongst the many that she rattled off in her usual, 1000 miles per hour patter. I saw his name on the board outside the BBC Intro tent and made a note to swing by during his set to see what all the fuss was about. I’m glad I did, what I discovered was a young musician, very much in his infancy when it came to being a singer-songwriter, but his music told a different story. It interwove acoustic melodies, it was calming, nourishing and backed by a cello (at least I think it was a cello), it breathed life into me, it spoke to me and instantly made an impression. 

Fast forward 7 years to March 15th 2024, I was on my way to catch him perform at Plymouth’s B-Bar. Having seen Jamie Yost perform solo, as a duet, and a trio, I had never seen him with a full band, so my excitement levels were high as I neared the venue. Upon arrival, the place was gridlocked, had the word got around Plymouth that this hometown hero had returned from Bristol for one night only? Was Jamie Yost the hottest ticket in town? I asked someone who was in the queue, and they said that they were waiting to go into the theatre, and seconds later, the long line of Friday night revellers filed orderly into the main part of the building, leaving me in the foyer, watching Jamie and his band setting up on the stage in the B-Bar. 

There was already a healthy number of people in the bar, a large table were seated and enjoying their Thai food, couples sat, chatting to one another as more and more people filed in. I sat down to eat my noodles and was moved on two occasions as people arrived who had had the foresight to book a table, it was filling up quickly and before long, it was standing room only! 

Looking at Jamie’s bio on his website, it’s no surprise that he has filled the venue tonight, he was handpicked to play alongside a stellar lineup of acts including Ferris & Sylvester, Haunt the Woods, Nathan Ball and even Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and has himself appeared at many of the renowned festivals including Tunes in the Sand, Cambridge Folk Festival, Rock Oyster and Leopalooza and more.  

Tonight was a special night for Jamie, it was the night that saw the official launch of his brand-new EP titled ‘This is Home’, an EP that has been two years in the making and took him off to London to record at RYP Studios in Rayners Lane. This is a boutique affair that just appealed to Jamie greatly after he had struck up a conversation with producer, Joey Walker and found that they had a shared interest in many artists.  

Collectively, the singles that were released ahead of the EP launch have amassed over 125k plays on Spotify alone, proving that Jamie is clearly doing the right thing and people are starting to notice him as a larger fish in the massive pool that he swims in, alongside millions of other artists, all trying to catch the attention of listeners around the world. 

Opening up for Jamie this evening was Olly Parker, a local musician who really enjoys playing guitar as well as bass (more on this later). Olly took to the stage and dazzled the room with a sterling display of acoustic led heartfelt numbers that really captured the hearts of everyone in the room. He drew from his back catalogue including his latest track ‘Just a Rainy Day’ which is an upbeat, refreshing song, guaranteed to put a smile on even the grumpiest of faces! 

After a short break, Jamie Yost et al took to the stage to kick off the main event.  

From the get-go, it was clear that Jamie meant business, he sounded incredible, looked calm and collected and appeared able to take on the world. He started his set with ‘Storm’, a single from 2021 which I recognised straight away with its complex guitar riff and heady vocals. He followed this with ‘Oh Wonder’ which started slow and built with his trademark intricate guitar patterns layered over the backing provided by his band.  

During the set, Jamie covered the entirety of ‘This is Home’, not in the order it is found on the CD which answered a question I was going to ask around whether it had a ‘golden thread’ weaved throughout it, linking it all together, like a Netflix series where you have to watch episode 1 in order for episode 2 to make any sense.  

‘Eden’ is a bonus track on the EP, something often reserved for a B-Side that didn’t make the final cut but, in this case, not true at all. The track is incredible, and I struggled to understand how it wasn’t placed earlier on the EP, I guess that good things come to those that wait and this is so true as it’s an amazing song which again, highlights Jamie’s trademark style, complete with the haunting guitar effects that overlay the main track. BBC Introducing might have beaten me to the ‘first play’ of the track but I have an ace card up my sleeve as I’ll be playing three of the EP tracks on my radio show which is going out on March 22 so stick that in your pipe and smoke it BBC folk! 

He even had time to play a cover of ‘With Every Heartbeat’ by Robyn, which took me a while to identify as he chose what is essentially an electro-tinged club banger and transformed it into a more stripped back version, with guitars instead of synths, branding it with his own permanent mark on it. An interesting choice but one that certainly worked. 

‘This is Home’ appeared later in his set, the title track from his new EP and one that included the whole band at its best. It sounded complete, whole and polished and I imagine would have been a fun track to work on in the studio with its peaks and troughs throughout. Looking at the faces of the band members, you could see that they were in sync with one another and that they certainly understand one another when it comes to putting on a show. Jamie said after the show that he had worked with these guys for a long time and boy, could you tell! 

Without an encore prepared, they asked the room what they’d like to hear, a shout of ‘Angels’ went out which, thankfully, resulted in fits of laughter from the stage. I was also expecting requests for ‘Wonderwall’ but thankfully, nobody called it... Instead, Jamie went full circle and ended with the track that started his musical journey, a track called ‘Stay’, penned in 2018 and part of his ‘Aurora’ EP, released in the same year. As he played the track, the room fell silent, you could literally hear a pin drop, such a magical moment for Jamie and his band on a very special evening in front of a hometown audience that had come out to welcome his return for one night only. 

Jamie Yost - Guitar/Vocals

Joe Harris - Drums

Olly Parker - Bass/Harmonies

Fergus Tanner - Electric Guitar/Keys

Simon Walker - Cello

Words and Pictures by musomuso.com 

Jamie Yost is currently on tour and plays a bunch of live shows in the next few weeks, these are. 

22 March – Apple & Parrot, Torquay  

27 March – The Cavern, Exeter * 

28 March – Cornish Bank, Falmouth * 

16 April – The Folklore Rooms, Brighton 

20 April – The Chapel, Nottingham ^ 

21 April – The Louisiana, Bristol ^ 

22 April – Tiny Rebel, Cardiff ^ 

2 May – St Pancras Old Church, London ^ 

25 May – The Taunton Brewhouse, Taunton $ 

*with The Native 

^with Haunt the Woods 

$with Taylor T 

Tickets are available for all dates via https://www.jamieyost.com/tour