Freya Ridings, her piano and her captivating songs left everyone at her concert in Cologne's Live Music Hall completely speechless from the moment the very first chords began to sound last night. The British singer and songwriter is one of those artists who are worth seeing in a concert, because what you hear on the records as a powerful voice, live is even better and her songs become even more emotional and haunting. Something she completely proved yesterday in the German city.
The night began with the support act, Jack Cullen, also British, who was in charge of preparing the audience for Freya Ridings. Cullen conquered the audience with his charm and his voice; he played several of his own songs while the attendees enjoyed and cheered. His songs are inspiring, sincere and show certain degree of vulnerability. And when accompanying his voice with the guitar, the perfect harmony is formed.
At nine o'clock the lights on the venue were turned off to prepare the stage for the band to jump in (drums, guitar, cello and bass) while the audience at the sold out venue held their breath waiting for Freya Ridings to show up. When the artist entered the stage the whole crowd broke into cheering whilst Freya sat down at the piano to start the main event of the evening.
The London-born singer became well-known for her 2017 single "Lost Without You", which reached the ninth position in the UK official music charts, and last year she released her first album, titled under her own name.
The live performance lasted exactly one hour, during which Freya Ridings sang a total of thirteen songs on a stage lit by monochromatic lamps on the ceiling and above the piano. The lights were turning on and off to give the songs a much more dramatic touch.
To be honest and fair there is not much I can say about the show after the third song. Right after finishing the work as photographer, the journalists were only allowed back inside the venue at the back. As the concert was sold out we had to stay behind a wall, what made impossible to see anything that happened on the stage plus there was a lot of noise around due to people among the audience chatting that also made it impossible to listen properly. Honestly, as a journalist I am sorry and feel bad about not being able to give a proper concert review to an astonishing artist who without any kind of doubt deserves much more.
However, if one thing came clear last night, it is that the British artist has a brilliant career ahead of her as a pianist, singer and songwriter.