Last Friday saw the anticipated launch party gig of local singer-songwriter Frankie Wesson’s new song ‘Just Friends’.

Taking place at The King’s Arms in Abergavenny, Frankie was thrilled to see a full house saying, “I was so pleased and touched by the amount of people who came out to support us and stuck around all night. It really means a lot and I’m lucky to have such a wonderful hometown crowd of supporters. A huge thanks as well goes to the King’s Arms who were on board from the beginning and super supportive in helping me make the single launch happen.”

The incredible turn out and excitement of the crowd was electric... but backstage not everything was going as smoothly! “The night started off with a pretty big hitch, due to a broken-down car we were left without a drummer or drum kit” Frankie admitted, “So with less than two hours until go time, me and my guitarist Ruby rushed off into the night in search of a Cajon drum. She recalled she had it buried somewhere in her back shed. Apart from disturbing a family of spiders who were living inside of the drum, our quest was a success!”

Luckily the drummer spot was also filled just in time! Kirsty Davies – a friend that Frankie recently made through a local LGBTQ+ meet up group. “I knew Kirsty was planning on coming to the launch and happened to be a Grade 8 on the drums... Having never even heard most of the original songs in the setlist, they did an amazing job with such professionalism, you’d have never known they weren’t already a part of the band!”

As soon as everything was put into action – the night couldn’t have gone any better. Frankie’s favourite part of the evening was having a screening of the new music video for the song, which was filmed by Honey McKenna in Abergavenny at Kahve Café Bar. “It was great to see everyone’s reactions to it for the first time” she commented “this video will be out online, November 25.”

Frankie’s music is influenced by a mixture of artists, ranging from Deaf Havana to Gabrielle Aplin, which has given her music an intimate yet laid back feel, with a pop/rock/folk flavour.

The gig felt like a long time in the making as Frankie says the song was originally recorded in 2019 but due to the pandemic, the release was pushed back two years. “It felt great to perform ‘Just Friends’ live with my band... I’m really glad it’s out now and I was able to celebrate the launch in person with everyone.”

The single is about having unreciprocated feelings for a friend. Frankie discussed how the song was a way of challenging herself to be more honest with her song-writing. This stemmed from listening to one of her favourite artists – songwriter, Katie Gavin from the band MUNA.

This is just the beginning for Frankie, as she has a number of songs already recorded and ready to release throughout 2023. With a few gigs coming up in December including 11th at The Halfway in Tal-y-Coed, Christmas Eve at The Garway Moon in Herefordshire and New Year’s Eve at The Lion Hotel in Blaenavon – Frankie is one to watch!