There’s something magic about a packed-out room, a beer run via the Laxey Co-op, and a band that’s about to blow the roof off the place.

That’s exactly what happened when I headed to the Laxey Working Men’s Institute on Good Friday to catch the much-anticipated debut of Loft 47.

The gig sold out within days of tickets being released, so my mates and I got down early – partly to bag a good spot, but mostly for a swift pint from across the road at The Bridge and a cheeky can run to the Co-op (because yes, it’s bring your own booze).

Loft 47 – made up of well-known Manx music royalty Terry George, Podge Hardinge, Jack Doyle, James ‘Hamez’ Hampton and my mate Cal Rowe – had teased the island with a little in-store performance at Sound Records earlier that week, but this was the real deal. The full set. And it was electric.

Their music, all original, came out swinging – powerful, tight and ridiculously catchy.

The crowd was straight in from the first note.

With the Institute’s cosy setting, it felt like being part of something proper special.

People were up dancing, singing along to tunes they’d never heard before, and strangers were chatting like old mates.

Afterwards, the lads were grinning ear to ear, and rightly so.

‘We think it went really well’, they told me rather modestly.

‘We’re buzzing that we sold out on our debut gig, and hearing the crowd singing back lyrics they hadn’t really heard before was pretty crazy.

‘Next we want to line up a few more gigs and get in the studio to record some singles’

Cal, who’s somehow in every band in the island, said he’s already raring to go again.

If this first outing is anything to go by, Loft 47 won’t just be playing village halls for long – but I’ll definitely be there when they do.