Kelsea Ballerini is one of those rare and unique artists that sounds as good live as she does on her records. Supported by Georgia Webster, Ballerini put on an incredible performance for the Manchester Crowd in a packed out O2 Ritz – I’ve never seen it that full.
I wasn’t overly familiar with Webster before she was announced as support for Ballerini but she has some well written songs that the first few rows in the crowd were singing along to. She built up an instant rapport with them as she worked the stage. She was full of energy and delivered a powerful set. The queue to meet her afterwards was extensive.
Time for the main event, the crowd roared as the lights went down and Ballerini’s voice could be heard on a record. Subject to Change was the opening number as the lights came up again she was stood on stage with an enormous grin.
She too was full of energy as she walked backwards and forwards, getting the crowd involved at every turn. The place was bouncing as she played a medley of hits, ‘Love You Like You Mean It’, ‘Dibs’ and ‘Yeah Boy’.
All the while, the visuals behind her were well thought out and brought the songs to life even more as colour filled the stage.
She took it down a notch as she went into ‘Love Is A Cowboy’ immediately followed by a cover of Dixie Chicks, ‘Cowboy Take Me Away’. One of my favourites of hers was next, ‘Half of my Hometown’ – her voice was flawless in its delivery.
A highlight of the night was when she invited Webster back up on stage with her to perform ‘Homecoming Queen’. Both women did a brilliant job of this heartfelt track. But the most powerful moment was yet to come as she performed a live debut of new song ‘Penthouse’ off the project she released just last week. Her voice was full of emotion but the crowd were supportive as she sang this very personal track.
Another highlight for the Manchester crowd was one of her biggest hits ‘Peter Pan’. The lighthouse visuals in the background added to the atmosphere as everyone sang along in fine voice. It was a phenomenal show from one of country-pop’s biggest talents!
