Nina Nesbitt - Club Academy, Manchester 19.05.2018
The day has been overbearingly warm and as I arrive at the Academy and see the queue of chattering girls, I will admit my excitement for this evening wains slightly. But as I have never had the chance to see Nina live before, despite being a fan for some time now, I pick myself up and try not to let my sense of foreboding dull the anticipation of tonight.
GEORGIE, was first up and had the daunting task of opening to a room of dedicated Nina fans. I always have the upmost respect for support acts because when you have a fan base as dedicated as Nina's have proven to be you have to bring something special to the stage to win them over. And win them over GEORGIE does. Despite the inevitable talking from a few, for the best part she holds her own and captures the interest of the room as she beautifully serenades us through her short set.
Next up is AU/RA. Taking the stage and appearing rather unassuming she like GEORGIE before ensures that in her short time on stage that those in attendance take note. Her haunting vocals capture my attention and manage to hold me for the duration of her set. Having never heard of her before, rest assured after tonight she has gained at least one new fan in me.
Now for the reasons tonights bustling room is here, as the lights go down down and the Scottish songstress takes to the stage the room erupts into screams. The initial energy never dissipates, in fact the fans hold their own throughout Nina's set. A sea of waving hands, lit torches on phones and those choosing to watch the show via their tiny phone screens obstruct my view throughout. But that doesn't really matter as the most important part of this evening still finds its way to me and that is Nina's voice.
Nina's songs are pure Pop in every sense but layered with emotion and maturity, she has a lot more to offer here than some of the current top 40 hits that's for sure. As stated above Nina's voice is the reason I am here tonight. I have all the time in the world for artists that sing in their native accent and through every song her accent shines.
Her set is made up of her more recent releases with a few of her earlier hits inserted in between. You'd be forgiven for thinking that Nina is older than 23 as she has already achieved so much in very little time and tonight is a testament to that. As the set comes to a close it is very apparent that the Club Academy isn't a big enough stage for her. With my hope being that as with all artists the small academy rooms are just a stepping stone to larger stages and greater heights.
After my initial worry and lets be honest prejudice towards Nina's younger fans, I can confidently say I was blown away by the energy of her young fans and the overall beauty of her voice and emotion of her songs. Yes trying to see her perform through a sea of phones is never appealing and my god does something need to be done about that at venues. But that said it is impossible to walk away from tonight without a huge smile on my face and excited for what Nina has to offer us next.
Nina Nesbitt - https://www.facebook.com/ninanesbittmusic/
