With the recent release of Under Stars, a heavily anticipated tour and visit to Nottingham was very much on the cards for Amy Macdonald, and she didn’t disappoint. A sold out tour as well as being accompanied by Newton Faulkner, this sure was a concert to get tickets for.
Newton Faulkner opening set was nothing short of a showcase of his talents. The incredibly talented singer songwriter appeared on stage barefoot and provided a warm up performance suitable to be a headline act. He could of easily been swallowed up by the stage but he made I his own whilst only operating in a very small area of it for his full set. The stripped back performed saw very little in the way of lighting but is was used to his full advantage when finishing with a Queen cover, Bohemian Rhapsody. He comical ending saw a fabulous end to his set, just in time for Amy to arrive on stage.
Amy Macdonald took to the stage, and the crowd stepped it up a notch. Her opening songs offered difference tempos and almost a quick show real of what to expect. The real changing point in her set was when she started playing ‘youth of today’ a song about childhood rebellion. Although it was one of her original songs, it’s so topical today. The whole band sang and the room was electrified.
You could look around the venue and see pockets of the audience up on their feet dancing in their own little moments without a care I the world. It was quite a nice spectacle to see and something only a few artists in the world can get away with at their shows. The Scottish vocals really complimented the atmosphere to go with this.
Both artists displayed amazing array of musical talent, but an added bonus was that they both were actually surprisingly funny and engaged with the crowd as much as they could. This made the concert more of an experience and a reason for both artists to come back again in the near future.
The concert offered something for everyone with influences from many different genres whilst keeping that pure Scottish accent in the vocals. Amy is playing at an army of festivals over the summer, if you are heading to Amy we encourage you to go and have a dance to her set and enjoy the moment for what it is, without another worry in the world.
Words and photos by Andy Tattershall/Studio 81 for NottinghamLIVE
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