One of the biggest rising stars of Country music right now is undoubtedly Kelsea Ballerini. Since the release of her debut album The First Time in 2015, Kelsea has notched up three consecutive number one hits ā Love Me Like You Mean It, Dibs and Peter Pan ā and sheās looking likely to clinch her fourth with current single Yeah Boy. With all the buzz around her Iām surprised she didnāt form part of this yearās C2C: Country to Country line-up. Last night Kelsea made her UK live debut performing at Under the Bridge.
From the moment she walked on stage, it was clear that Kelsea was going to deliver a big show regardless of the intimate size of the venue she was playing in. Video screens flashed up the title to her latest hit Yeah Boy as the band started to play the opening chords. Kelsea bounced onto the stage with a huge smile as she gave an energetic performance of the track. Within seconds the audience was singing along to every word and the atmosphere at Under the Bridge was electric.
For the most part Kelseaās set list consisted of songs from The First Time. The empowering Square Pegs was an early highlight with Kelsea working her way into the audience and letting her fans take the mic to sing parts of the song. It was one of several moments where she looked genuinely overwhelmed at the reaction she was getting and at one point in the show she admitted that she was nervous that no one was going to turn up for the show.
During Dibs, Kelsea soaked up the adoration of the audience as they drowned her out by singing the song so loudly. She worked the stage covering every inch and ensuring that she performed to every single person in the venue. An acoustic section of the set was book-ended with cover version mash-ups starting with Little Big Townās Girl Crush and Keith Urbanās Blue Aināt Your Colour and ending with a pop melody that featured James Bayās Let It Go, Justin Bieberās Sorry and OneRepublicās Apologize. In the middle of that she played new song I Hate Love Songs, which is a refreshing change to the sickly sweet love songs that dominate the air waves.
I Hate Love Songs wasnāt the only new song Kelsea performed last night. Roses was a punchy addition to the set that got a fantastic reception from the crowd, the reflective High School was relatable and We Were Like had a summer vibe with all the makings of a hit.
Following a storming rendition of XO, which is Kelseaās first official single in the UK, she left the stage and re-emerged in the middle of the audience for an acoustic version of First Time. It was a spine-tingling moment, the kind you remember long after a gig has finished. That was followed by Kelseaās debut hit Love Me Like You Mean It, which was a fitting end to a triumphant night.
The only complaint of the evening, and this is nothing that Kelsea had control over, is that for the first half of the set the sound levels meant that the drums drowned out Kelseaās vocals. She kept taking her in-ear monitor out, suggesting that she wasnāt unaware of the sound issues. Still she carried on like a pro and the issue appeared to be rectified by the second half of the show.
Kelsea rocked Under the Bridge last night and now sheās tested the waters here in the UK, I expect weāre going to see a lot more of her once the release of her second album arrives later this year. With a warm stage presence, an engaging personality and a set list full of great songs, Kelsea showed the UK why sheās one of the biggest new artists in Country music. I expect that sheāll be announced as one of the main stage artists for next yearās C2C and I have my fingers crossed that my hunch is right.
[brid video=”110884″ player=”531″ title=”Kelsea Ballerini Yeah Boy”]
Set list: 1. Yeah Boy 2. Looking At Stars 3. Square Pegs 4. Dibs 5. Stilettos 6. Roses 7. High School 8. Sirens 9. We Were Like 10. Girl Crush / Blue Aināt Your Colour 11. I Hate Love Songs 12. Let It Go / Sorry / Apologize 13. Peter Pan 14. XO 15. First Time 16. Love Me Like You Mean It Performance Date: Thursday 11th May 2017