29 February 2016 (gig)
03 March 2016
The night was kicked off by the outspoken and moody Jake Bugg who was on great form. The performance felt personable and polished, and Bugg was backed by his band. The audience was treated to a performance full of favourites from his first two albums and a few new treats thrown in there now and then. The 40 minute set was finished with Lightning Bolt which the crowd lapped up with great excitement.
Next up was Birmingham based grime artist Lady Leshurr. She recently has had great success with her Queen’s Speech series which have blown up on YouTube and even featured on a Samsung advert in the States. Despite her critically acclaim, Lady Leshurr was unfortunately given a small portion of the stage compared to her fellow performers. The sound checks for The 1975 were extremely distracting and made Lady Leshurr’s performance feel more like a warm up set rather than being independent from the other acts of the evening. Despite her unfortunate billing, Lady Leshurr’s performance was explosive and playful. She spat her bars with clarity and conviction and at one point showered the audience with toothbrushes for her rendition of Brush Your Teeth, showcasing her humorous and tongue-in-cheek nature; she said it herself, ‘it’s all for the bants.’
The most anticipated act of the night was The 1975, and the excitement for the band was confirmed by the deafening screams from the young teenage audience. The Manchester band treated the audience an exclusive listen to snippets of their newest album, I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It. Despite their pretentious album title, The 1975’s performance was engaging and moreish and the dynamic lighting added a dreamlike feel to the evening. The set progressed with several moods and tempos from high energy funk with their opener Love Me to slow and soulful songs such as A Change of Heart. Front man Matty Healy flitted and danced around the stage in his leather get up, and the female audience nearly screamed the house down. The set was skilfully finished with the band’s classic Girls and the audience was left feeling energised and ready for more from the Mancunian band. Evidently Radio 1 wants more from the likes of Jake Bugg and The 1975, as they will feature at the Radio 1’s annual Big Weekend in Exeter later this year.
All in all, the night felt like a privileged and exciting opportunity to hear some of this year’s best artists. Even if most of the audience came to see The 1975, they left knowing the likes of upcoming Lady Leshurr and talented Jake Bugg.
By Maddy Comber
