From the back-streets of a city whose name is paradoxically synonymous with both division and welcome, Wes Grierson writes music that also reaches for the extremes. It's music to make you cry; music to make you laugh; but most of all music to make you feel. While that's been the favoured cliche of musicians since Adam and Eve discovered shaking coconuts made for an interesting back beat, it's a claim that's exonerated to an unusual degree by Wes' brand of 'acoustic raw'. Writing music that will affect his audience, in a way that strives to be something a little bit more than a superficially fleeting melody hit- but minus the pretensions that this implies- has been the thirty year old's lifelong ambition. And these are lyrics that make you think, backed up by a sound that is sincere rather than sing-a-long. With lines like 'So sore is my heart that/ I swear I've got blisters on my soul', you don't have to look far to see the Irish melancholy of this Belfast roots. It's not slash-your-wrists anthems, but it is music that isn't afraid to acknowledge that some days the world is more dark than bright. Failed love affairs have long been the stuff of ballads but Wes brings something more to the mix. Perhaps it's the awareness that there are worse things in life than the odd broken heart - not something that most love songs, unsurprisingly, tend to admit. But mostly it's his reluctantly confessed conception of his music as a place to sojourn for anyone who, like himself, is not yet quite home. Theodore Roosevelt said that for those who have had to fight for it, life has truly a flavour the protected shall never know, and this is music that resonates with the same stolen wisdom. Hope gains the depth of it meaning from the desperation of despair; Wes' music unblinkingly recognizes that despair, while whispering that still, somewhere, hope remains.
"In a somewhat mundane plethora of songwriters and performers, there is always one who stands out – a “shining light” if you will – and that’s Wes Grierson. He has always impressed me on the programme. Each time he performs, his songs are from the heart with no outside influences. Because of his guitar building knowledge, he seems to know what makes a guitar “sing” – and he plays it that way! At the moment he is making inroads into Europe and the UK. In the wake of Snow Patrol, Foy Vance and Bryan Kennedy my tip is… he’s the next in line! Look out World!”
- George Jones, BBC & U105 radio presenter
"Wes Grierson's performances are always vibrant, haunting and uplifting. He is a powerful and expressive singer with sensitive lyrics and a great fat wodge of heart. The intimate vocal delivery, the undeniably intelligent and contemporary approach makes Wes one of the best live performers around."
- Adele Ingram, One a Chord Music Promotion Director