Review: Saint Raymond – Rock City – 11 February 2015

When I chatted to Saint Raymond in the run up to his Rock City headline set he told me that playing the city centre venue had been a “dream” of his ever since he started playing music, last night, as he stepped out onto that stage, almost 2,000 people chanting his name, it was clear that this man living that dream.

Throughout a storming set Callum looked like the happiest man in the world, in fact I can’t ever remember seeing a person look as happy to be on a stage as he did last night, this was, in his own words “the best night of his life” it was also one of the best Nottingham performances I’ve seen.

The crowds were already way up Talbot Street by 6pm as people eagerly awaited Saint Raymonds hometown gig and by the time opening act FICKLE FINGERS took to the stage Rock City was already filling up nicely. The only none-Nottingham act on the line-up, Fickle Friends were a band I’d heard nothing about until they were announced as playing this gig, however it was clear from the reaction that they had a number of fans among the crowd and they certainly did a good job of getting the crowd warmed up during a short set. Their upbeat, catchy pop numbers certainly made them a suitable fit as a support act for Callum and I’m sure they left the stage with a large number of new fans.

Up next were another of the top tips of the Nottingham scene, AMBER RUN. Despite only being on the scene for about eighteen months there has been a lot of hype around this band with gigs at Leeds, Reading and Splendour already under their belt. These guys have a really strong, anthemic sound that seemed natural up on the Rock City main stage with the track ‘Spark’, in particular, going down a storm. These guys will be back with a headline show at Rescue Rooms in May, which will be well worth checking out and I wouldn’t put it past them being future Rocky City headliners.

With Amber Run finished the time had come for the main event, and after allowing his band to take to the stage first, out stepped Callum Burrows, aka SAINT RAYMOND, carrying the smile of a man who knew how much this moment meant.

As Callum’s set got underway it quickly became apparent that this was going to be a special night, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand, encouraging them to sing along, when he broke into I Wan’t You it felt like the roof was about to come off Rock City as almost two thousand people chant “I want you to want me, I want you you know that”

We were also treated to some new songs from his upcoming album, due later this year, and a solo track that was written only last week and sounds like a real winner.

Young Blood was another winner with the crowd, as the pace showed no signs of slowing down.

The obligatory fake end came after which Callum returned for an encore that saw him kick off with a couple of solo tracks, including This Town, his ode to Nottingham before his band joined him to round off the night with two of his best loved songs. Bonfires the song he wrote as a fifteen year old and first woke Nottingham up to the talents of this young singer and finally Fall At Your Feet.

With that the night was over and Rock City exploded in a cacophony of noise as the nineteen year old walked off stage after what will almost certainly be one of the gigs of the year.

I’ve been a huge fan of Saint Raymond for years, having first seen them as a duo and later having seen Callum grow as a solo performer, having been lucky enough to have him appear on the NottinghamLIVE Radio Show almost two years ago it was incredible to see him stood up on that stage and completely smash it.

Callum has said that headlining Rock City was what he always dreamed about, now he’s done it, however if last night is anything to go by this is just the start for him and I, for one, can’t wait to see where it leads.

Callum also announced that he would be back at Rock City in May when he headlines the Dot to Dot Festival, this was today confirmed in an official announcement, you can find out more here.

You can check out our interview with Callum in the run up to last nights gig here.

Make sure you’re following Saint Raymond on Facebook to keep on top of all the latest news and releases.

Review by Darren Patterson. Photographs by Stuart Brothers – @blackwhitezine