Live: Mack Hofberg @ The Wedgewood Rooms

by | Mar 11, 2016

When you spend your time photographing and reviewing live music, it stands to reason you try to chase the biggest acts you can possibly find; there’s something particularly exciting about snapping a major artist in the throes of performance. But, the thrill of capturing a superstar that you know has been pictured thousands of times before can still be eclipsed when you find yourself at the other end of the spectrum. Who is to say that today’s unknown band or artist isn’t tomorrow’s Catfish And The Bottlemen or Adele? So, when I was recently tipped off that a highly regarded but practically unheard of local talent was playing his biggest gig by far at Portsmouth’s Wedgewood Rooms, I jumped at the chance to check him out.

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

The highly regarded but practically unheard of local talent in question goes by the name of Mack Hofberg. Hofberg, just nineteen, was a student at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, Surrey – one of the largest specialist contemporary music schools in the country. It’s a place that spews out prodigious talent with great regularity – Ed Sheeran and Newton Faulkner are notable alumni. Take a walk around the town though and the inordinate number of ACM guitar cases slung over drooping shoulders tells you that, sadly, it’s also a place fostering an awful lot of dreams shared by an awful lot of people you’re never going to hear about. An evening in the company of Mack Hofberg has left me concluding that regardless of where he goes from here, he certainly deserves to be one of the notable ones.

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

Dressed in a plaid shirt and with just an acoustic guitar and an eponymously titled kick drum for company, Hofberg cut a lonely figure on the Wedgewood Room stage. He opened with the self-penned instrumental Cowboy Song and immediately it was apparent what all the fuss was about. He plays an acoustic guitar, finger style in the mould of the phenomenal Andy McKee, which means plenty of percussive taps, slaps and snaps and frequently both hands at the business end of the neck picking and fingering the strings. Harmonics sizzle out of Hofberg’s fingers as if they were passing too close to a nearby Van de Graaff generator. It’s kind of what Eddie Van Halen used to do, minus the bad taste, distortion and Spandex. This style of playing also lends itself to the notion that you’re hearing several guitar parts at once and it’s refreshing to be getting it from raw talent alone rather than a £99 looping effects pedal from the local music shop.

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

The set has one cover, Drifting, an instrumental by the aforementioned Andy McKee who it transpires through a story we’re told is Hofberg’s idol and somebody he met when he was fifteen. When Mack asked him “How can I be as good as you”, McKee replied after a few seconds consideration: “You can never be as good as me”.

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

Hofberg quickly established himself as a consummate guitarist, but he is more than that. As well as delivering some of the finger picking pyrotechnics of his peers, he also has a voice; an ethereal and fragile vocal that’s full of emotion and suggests a few life experiences that somehow seem inconsistent with his age. The whole is a collection of finely handcrafted songs that fit into the folk pop/rock territory occupied by the likes of Ben Howard and Nick Mulvey. Mack closed the set with Going Nowhere, another percussive song that fostered some nice crowd participation and garnered well earned and vocal support from a very appreciative crowd.

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

After the performance I asked him whether he saw himself as a guitarist that sings or a vocalist that plays guitar. He confided that he feels he’s more the latter but that he’d like to think he’s a better songwriter than either. That might be true, but he also said: “Short of what I relentlessly practice, I’m an incredibly average guitar player”. That, my friends, manifestly isn’t true.

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

Mack Hofberg performing at The Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth on 3 March 2016 (Simon Reed)

So, is Mack Hofberg going to be a household name in years to come? Who can say in a world where sadly most of us are told what to like by clowns like Simon Cowell and Ricky Wilson. What I do know is that if you see his name listed as performing at a venue near you then do yourself a favour and go. There can’t possibly be more than one ‘Mack Hofberg’ about so it’s a very low-risk option; he is an artist completely deserving of a wider audience and your ears will thank you for it too. You heard it here first.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000W1ZQfYE_Yz0″ g_name=”Mack-Hofberg” f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”t” f_fullscreen=”t” f_show_watermark=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_mtrx=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”600″ height=”450″ f_constrain=”t” bgcolor=”#ffffff” bgtrans=”t” btype=”new” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” twoup=”t” trans=”flip” tbs=”4000″ f_ap=”t” linkdest=”c” f_topbar=”f” f_bbar=”f” f_bbarbig=”” f_smooth=”f” f_up=”f” target=”_self” ]

Live Review & Concert Photography by Simon Reed. See more of Simon’s photography on his personal website: www.musicalpictures.co.uk

Lizzie Esau @ The Grace (Kalpesh Patel

Lizzie Esau Unleashes Explosive New Single ‘Bugs’ — A Dark, Defiant Step Forward From A Rockshot Favourite

Rockshot Magazine favourite Lizzie Esau continues her rapid ascent through the UK’s alt-rock landscape with the release of her most accomplished single to date, Bugs. A darkly euphoric track filled with emotional grit and lyrical nuance, Bugs sees the 25-year-old Newcastle native confront the chaos of creative self-doubt with ferocity — and catharsis.

EMMMA (João Viegas)

EMMMA Finds Power In Heartache With Stirring New Single ‘Wednesday’s Child’

EMMMA is no stranger to vulnerability — but with her latest single, Wednesday’s Child, the rising UK-based alt-pop artist turns raw emotion into a seismic act of self-empowerment. Released as the next step toward her second EP, the track is a defining moment in her artistic evolution: darker, bolder, and more emotionally fearless than anything she’s released before.

Jon Allen (Michael Walker)

Jon Allen Unearths Gritty Past Of 18th Century London With Immersive New Album ‘Seven Dials’

British singer-songwriter Jon Allen invites listeners into the fog-shrouded streets and shadowy corners of 18th century London with his latest album, Seven Dials. Known for his earthy blend of folk, blues, and Americana, Allen trades modern-day themes for a haunting historical portrait that’s as cinematic as it is emotionally raw.

Josh Groban (Sami Drasin)

Josh Groban Shines Bright With New Career-Spanning Album ‘Gems’

Josh Groban is entering a new era of reflection and celebration with the release of Gems, a deeply personal,...
Sophie Grey (Maximilian Stafford)

Sophie Grey Is Not Waiting Anymore — She’s Putting You ‘On Hold’

Rising electro-pop artist Sophie Grey. is back with a brooding new single, On Hold, and it’s everything we’ve come to expect from the multi-talented producer, performer, and provocateur — shimmering synths, bold visuals, and an anthem for the digitally disenchanted. Out now with an equally cinematic music video, On Hold is a hypnotic blend of retro-futurism and raw emotion, delivered with Grey’s signature flair and fiercely independent spirit.

Lorde (Thistle Brown)

Lorde’s Rebirth: ‘Virgin’ Ushers In A Raw, Unfiltered New Era

In an industry that thrives on reinvention, Lorde has always moved to the beat of her own creation. Now, four years after the sun-soaked introspection of Solar Power, the enigmatic New Zealander has announced her fourth studio album, Virgin, due out on 27th June — a project that promises to be her most emotionally exposed and artistically unguarded work to date.

Blondshell @ MOTH Club (Kalpesh Patel)

Blondshell Faces The Fire With New Single And Sophomore LP ‘If You Asked For A Picture’

Alt-rock torchbearer Blondshell (aka Sabrina Teitelbaum) is preparing to light the fuse on her next era with the release of her highly anticipated sophomore album, If You Asked For A Picture, arriving this Friday, 2nd May via Partisan Records. Today, she offers one last taste before the full detonation with the release of her latest single, Event Of A Fire—a smoldering slow-burn that builds from embers to an emotional inferno.

Pistol Daisys (Matthew Pearson)

Pistol Daisys Return With Shimmering New Single ‘Calling Your Name’ — A Heartbreak Anthem For The Bold And Open-Minded

Scotland’s genre-blurring alt-pop outfit Pistol Daisys are back, and they’re diving deep into unexpected truths,...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing