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Review / 'Freya Ridings closed her first UK tour in front of an adoring crowd'

'Rising star' Freya Ridings plays Bristol's SWX, Daisy Hall reviews.

By Daisy Hall, Third year Psychology

'Rising star' Freya Ridings plays Bristol's SWX, Daisy Hall reviews.

Unless she was tapping into a whole new meaning of ‘crying in the club’, SWX seemed a rather unlikely place for Freya Ridings to hold the final gig of her UK tour. With less than cheery classics such as ‘Lost Without You’ and ‘Blackout’, Freya closed her first ever headlining UK tour in front of an adoring crowd. Indeed, the drunken commentary coming from the man behind me was gushing at her talent.

Whilst both Freya and her incredible support act JC Stewart are relatively new to the music scene, there is no doubting they have great careers ahead of them.

Callum Stewart, better known as JC Stewart, is one to watch. Hailing from Derry, Ireland, the singer-songwriter has an astounding voice, showcased in his singles ‘Like I Did’ and ‘Medicine’. Both of these soothing tracks were partially contrasted by his acoustic cover of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ which the crowd seemed to really enjoy. JC Stewart will be continuing to support Freya Ridings as she takes her tour to Europe, first stop, Germany.

Finally, Freya Ridings took to the stage in front of her middle-aged audience. Like her warm-up act, Freya has beautiful voice, with a similar distinctive tone to Florence Welch. Unfortunately, despite the many similarities between the two, Freya lacks the performance personality of the Florence + The Machine leading lady, with her entire set consisting of her sitting in front of a keyboard. This did highlight her musical capabilities, yet seemed to draw up a barrier between her and the audience, thus resulting in a similar effect to merely listening to her recordings. Whilst this may seem a criticism, it is also a testament to her wonderful voice as a muscial talent who is unaffected by singing live.

Having said this, as someone who normally accuses the classic oohs and aahs of pop songs as lazy song-writing, Freya’s ethereal voice owns them and ‘Ultraviolet’ was powerfully received by the supportive crowd. The addition of a cello to her band was also a successful stylistic choice which served to elevate the fluidity of her songs.

With time to grow into the industry, Freya Ridings is a rising star with all eyes on her and I can’t wait to see what she produces next.

Featured Image: Freya Ridings/ Gold Soldier Records


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