Brentwood’s very own singing superstar Pixie Lott launched her brand new album ‘Encino’ at independent music shop Hey Joe Music & Coffee in Brentwood on Friday 27 September.
Brentwood residents will be familiar with Pixie, who grew up here and shot to fame at just 15 when discovered by world famous record producer LA Reid. Pixie went on to achieve three number-one singles, including ‘Mama Do (Uh Oh Uh Oh)’, ‘Boys and Girls’, and ‘All About Tonight’, and has sold 1.6 million albums globally. ‘Encino’ is Pixie’s first new music in over five years and features songs which she describes as her most ‘authentic’ to date. There’s even a bit of Brentwood in there, with references to Sam’s nightclub in a track called ‘Blockbuster Video’, a tribute to memories evoked from growing up in the area, including family evenings watching movies rented from the High Street shop.
In a sold-out intimate hometown gig at Hey Joe in Ropers Yard, Pixie performed several songs including familiar hits, brand new tracks from ‘Encino’, chatted with fans and signed copies of the album for the rest of the evening. Earlier in the day, Pixie performed for excited students at St. Martin’s School in Hutton, the school attended by The Voice Kids winner Jess Folley. Jess was chosen and coached by Pixie on the show, and went on to win the competition in 2017. Pixie said, “Coming back to Brentwood to launch ‘Encino’ was a really special moment for me. This is the album I’ve always wanted to make, and to be performing it in front of a great crowd at Hey Joe, in my hometown where it all started, was an amazing experience. Now I’ve moved back to Brentwood myself, I definitely plan on spending more time here!”
Marc Sardinha, owner of Hey Joe Music & Coffee, said, “It was a real honour to have Pixie perform here at Hey Joe Music. Although we’ve been open in Brentwood for four and a half years, we relocated to this space in the Summer and we couldn’t have chosen a more exciting way of marking our first few months here. As an independent, we’re always promoting how important it is to support small local businesses, so it means a lot when someone as well known as Pixie, with a huge fanbase and millions of followers, makes the decision to support an indie like us.”
Brentwood Connected, the Business Improvement District (BID), also supported the event. BID Manager Sarah Walmsley said, “Events like this really help to put Brentwood on the map, so we absolutely had to shout about this and encourage people to come along. Having a homegrown star like Pixie Lott choosing to host a significant event like an album launch here in Brentwood is really special. One of our key priorities is to promote places by attracting new visitors to Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone. We hope that those who came especially for this event will return at a later date, to visit Hey Joe Music & Coffee and to explore the rest of the area.”
Hey Joe Music & Coffee is located at 10 Ropers Yard, Brentwood CM14 4FU. The shop has a wide range of music, as well as a coffee shop with smoothies, soft drinks and homemade cakes. Live music events take place regularly and are advertised on social media - follow @heyjoemusicuk on Facebook and Instagram for details.
‘Encino’ by Pixie Lott is available now to stream, download and on CD and vinyl.