SOUTHAMPTON'S buzzing live music scene has always been criminally underrated in my humble opinion.

It's about time we had another act cause a major stir and put us on the map.

So I'm delighted that things are looking rather good for one Seán McGowan.

I caught up with the hugely talented acoustic singer-songwriter this week and he was as entertaining as ever, brimming with excitement for his forthcoming headline tour to support his brilliant new EP, which is out today.

The London leg is sold out, only a handful of tickets remain for Seán's biggest ever headline date at The Loft in Southampton a week tonight and Manchester, Nottingham and Bristol are following close behind.

Graft & Grief manages to tug on the heartstrings and make you laugh out loud, a rare feat. But then that's nothing new for the 24-year-old who has been doing this with some success for seven years.

For one so young, his songwriting is seriously refined, serving up a cultured opinion on modern life, often sad but normally with a trademark touch of humour.

Now Seán's worried life is getting too good for him.

"I was talking to my friend about this who was like what are you going to write about now? Things are too positive and that's not very you," he laughed.

But I can't see him getting too big for his boots any time soon, even if things do take off in a major way.

After all, this is the man that brought us a love song that reduces me to tears about Millbrook Road, of all places!

At Common People this year, he regaled the crowd with a story of his first snog on the Common before remembering his Mum was in the crowd and reprimanded his brother for nearly missing his early set because he was too busy enjoying the cheap drinks in the Wetherspoons on Shirley High Street.

I joke that his lyrics will soon be all glamour and rock n roll.

"It's not going that well," he laughs. "We're still cramped in a Transit van with no air conditioning and no heating!"

Now that's the Seán we all know and love!

We at the Daily Echo wish him every success. He certainly deserves it.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here