It’s been almost two years to the day since Kelsea Ballerini
released her debut album The First Time, and
yet last night’s gig at Under The Bridge was the first time she’d hit UK shores
to perform. The anticipation was palpable and we were in for a real treat from
the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter.
The night was already off to a good start as I walked into
the venue to be greeted by the sound of Zac Brown Band, Old Dominion and Blake
Shelton songs blasting through the speaker system. Although Kelsea wasn’t due
on stage until 9pm, there was already a long line of fans waiting outside Under
The Bridge who came in as soon as doors opened to secure the best spaces.
Knowing who the opening act was, I’m sure they were glad that they arrived
early to see her perform.
Catherine McGrath has become a recognisable name in the UK
country music scene over the past few months, having opened for just about
anyone touring the country, from The Shires to Canaan Smith to Cam and now
Kelsea. As she walked on stage, she made sure to immediately introduce herself
to the crowd, talking about how she used to queue for concerts like this and
how excited she was to support Kelsea tonight.
Her set kicked off with perhaps her most well-known song to
date, Hell Would Have To Freeze Over,
a poppy number about what an ex would have to do to win her back. She take the
time to explain the inspiration behind each song she plays, from Starting From Now about trying not to
let heartbreakers back into your life, and a song called Cinderella co-written with Nashville songwriter Liz Rose. Rose
famously helped to write many of Taylor Swift’s country-era songs, and there
are many allusions that can be made between Swift and McGrath, from the way
they base songs on personal experience to even their style of singing.
Hopefully this bodes well for Catherine’s career trajectory!
She already seems pretty well known though, and it’s nice to
see members of the crowd already singing along to her songs. The applause grows
steadily after each song, and following a performance of recent single Just In Case, I hear the people next to
me comment “she’s got a great voice” – some new fans there already.
She finishes her set with two slower songs, She’ll Never Love You and Never Want To Fall In Love, which
although not as easy to dance along to, highlight her fantastic vocal range
hitting some impressive high notes, and allow her guitarist and drummer to
shine. We also get a sneak peek of unreleased song Wild written about a guy still in love with someone else, my
favourite song of her set. The story-telling lyrics are truly country, and
point to Catherine as definitely one to watch. I look forward to seeing her
headline a show at some point soon.
A short while later, the lights go down, video screens at
the back of the stage start flashing and the opening chords of Yeah Boy begin to play. This is followed
by a huge roar as Kelsea takes to the stage, unsurprising this being her first
show in the UK. As she sings, her energy is palpable and this permeates the
crowd who continue singing at the top of their lungs when Kelsea points the
microphone in our direction during Looking
At Stars.
It’s hard not to love Kelsea as the first thing she says to
the crowd is “OH MY GOD! This is my first even show in the UK, I was worried no
one was going to show up!” Needless to say, the gig sold out in under an hour.
She gets into the crowd to perform my favourite track from The First Time, Square Pegs, before returning on stage to perform a
high-energy version of her hit song Dibs,
dancing around the stage and making it obvious that she was having just as much
fun as all of us were. ‘One for the girls’ track Stilettos was followed by super fun Roses, which she confirmed will be on album #2, and I can assure
will have you dancing round your room within seconds.
We were treated to a number of unreleased songs and things
were slowed down for an acoustic version of High
School and summer jam We Were Like. Without
a doubt, my favourite new song was I Hate
Love Songs, an almost satirical anti-love-song love song with lyrics like “I
hate Shakespeare and Gosling and cakes with white frosting, two names in a
heart shaped tattoo / I think Cupid is stupid and violets are purple, not blue
/ I hate catching bouquets, the honeymoon phase and letterman jackets don’t fit
/ Your eyes can’t hold stars and you’d die if your heart really skipped” It’s a
lot of fun and a really catchy tune at that, so I’m certainly looking forward
to hearing the studio version if one is released.
Kelsea performed a few mashups too, including a country love
song mix of Girl Crush and Blue Ain’t Your Color, and a pop mashup
detailing the story of a relationship, ranging from James Bay’s Let It Go to Justin Bieber’s Sorry and One Republic’s Apologise. I’m sure all artists involved
would have been very proud to have their songs covered by such a talented
artist!
The show finished with some of Kelsea’s biggest hits to
date, including Sirens and Peter Pan, which again, the crowd were
more than happy to take over singing whenever Kelsea stopped, and XO, her first UK single, the exposure of
which will hopefully encourage Kelsea to come back across the pond more often. I
wouldn’t be surprised if we see her next March as a headliner at C2C Country 2
Country, if not before. Here’s hoping!
She walked off stage with a huge smile on her face, but it
wasn’t long before the crowd began chanting ‘Kelsea’ and so she appeared a few
minutes later literally right in the middle of the standing crowd, guitar in
hand to perform The First Time. Although
the lack of stage meant people on the other side of the room weren’t able to
see her, it was incredible to hear just how her voice filled the entire venue,
creating a truly magical experience. Of course, it wouldn’t have been a Kelsea
show without ending on Love Me Like You
Mean It, where the energy was turned up to eleven and left us all buzzing
even after she’d left the stage for the final time. Kelsea, we welcome you back
soon with open arms!
Let me know your
thoughts on the review, Kelsea or Catherine, as well as checking out some exclusive
photos and videos from the gig on Twitter @CiarasCountry, and stay tuned for
more reviews and interviews coming soon!
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