OneRepublic plus support from Ella Henderson

Warming the large crowd up nicely was Ella Henderson. With obviously only a short set she has to stick to mostly the well-known tunes which is no bad thing. ‘Crazy What Love Can Do’, ‘21 Reasons’, duet with Tom Grennan ‘Let’s Go Home Together’ and of course, ‘Ghost’, getting the crowd on their feet, quite early. We, like her fans, have waited long enough for a proper tour to show what she can really do. Sort it out, Ella.

Standing on a podium behind the drum kit, Ryan Tedder launched this concert with ‘Born’. Showing how much confidence they have in their music, and so they should, with the quality of their back catalogue, which has made them household names. Although not touring for quite a while, this venue looks sold out, testament to their history, and how much it means to their fans. This is my first time of seeing this band, and apart from the singles everyone knows, I was open to being either surprised or disappointed, but let me tell you, it was not the latter. They were quickly into fan faves like, ‘Feel Again’ and ‘Good Life’, ‘Run’ and ‘Stop and Stare’. The staging was spot on and the energy coming off the stage was immense, only really slowing down when the band played some of the hits Ryan Tedder has written for other artists like, Beyoncé, in stripped down versions on a small stage in the centre of the arena. This was followed on their return to the mainstage by more greatest hits like ‘Apologize’, ‘Counting Stars’ and a euphoric version of ‘If I Lose Myself’, which stoked the crowd up into a near frenzy.

Tedder has a gift for writing catchy ear worm songs, like ‘Counting Stars’, along with many more. But their music touches a lot of people deeper than just a radio friendly 3-minute song, and live, they deliver in bucket loads. Quite a night.

Photos by Geoff Griffe
Review by Jenny Griffe