Hailing from Essex, former Hey Vanity frontman and established artist Marc Halls recently journeyed on a tour across the UK, joined by fellow friend and musician Jakob Oelofse, better known as We Are All Fossils, with their latest stop being The Hug And Pint in Glasgow.

The duo of Gemma Matthews and Ciaran Boyle – collectively known as The Gracious Attempt – were first. There was a blend of crisp harmonies, particular from Gemma, and the keys and acoustic chords, while straightforward in nature, were able to produce quite the ambience.

There were some noticeable miscues in the penultimate number, but otherwise a very warm and enjoyable set which we would be more than happy to see more of in the future.

Judging by the ticket sales, Austin Miller appeared to be pretty popular, and it was easy to understand the appeal of him.

He looked confident and sounded fairly passionate, and the rest of his entourage added to the music nicely. Admittedly, it was a little hazy early on, with some instances of the group being a touch out of time, but they tightened up as they went along, dishing out a batch of fun, large-sounding tunes that drew in and held the attention of the audience before capping off in extravagant fashion.

Very good stuff, we must say, and the potential is plain to see in this fellow.

And now for something more low-key – We Are All Fossils, accompanied by Marc Halls.

Whether giving us material that was upbeat or gentler and atmospheric, his voice was pure and his playing was damn near perfect, plus we got a showcase of great lyrics and he certainly earned some respectful applause for his work.

A superb artist with an undeniable charm to him.

The man of the hour, Marc Halls himself, stepped up to close out the night, and in a role reversal was Jakob now backing him up, and they proved to be a dynamic pairing.

He looked nothing short of a legitimate star on that stage, and was very proficient on the guitar, keyboard and even the harmonica. A major strength was in his writing, as demonstrated in the likes of Bittersweet Memories, We’ll Be Ok and Open Ended Stories.

Erised had a cool beat and infectious chorus, and The Grey featured a sweet moment in which the crowd members joined in clicking their fingers without being even asked too.

A tremendously satisfying performance that we would happily pay to watch again and again.