Review: Radio City 96.7 Presents: Summer Live - Echo Arena Liverpool

Doors opened at 6PM for Radio City 96.7's Summer live concert. The Liverpool Echo Arena was full to the brim of excited youngsters accompanied by their parents. Similarly, the lineup was jam packed with some of the biggest names currently topping the charts with their music.

Hosted by Radio City 96.7 presenters Leanne Campbell and Dave Kelly,the gig was the first of a series of gigs on offer by the city of Liverpool in association with Knowsley Community college. Early bird tickets for Radio City 6.7 Christmas Live are now on sale here for the event on Wednesday 10th December.

Foxes got the show off to an electric start and sang her new single "Glorious". She urged the willing audience to light up the arena and they duly complied. There were only three in her band but they produced a big sound and set the audience alight with their exuberant delivery. 

Foxes

2012 X-factor finalist Ella Henderson followed and wowed the audience with her powerful ballad. She sang the same song that she performed at her X-Factor audition two years ago and completed her set with her No 1 debut single "Ghost" which saw the audience up on their feet and ready to party. This was a powerful and sophisticated performance by the young star.

Ella Henderson

Ex Pussycat doll Ashley Roberts sang two songs, one of which was her new single entitled "woman Up"  which is due for release on 24th August 2014.

Ashley Roberts

A firm favourite of mine followed Ashley Roberts in the form of Ella Eyre I have seen her a lot over the festival season but never seem to tire of her flawless performances. She reminded the audience of her collaboration with Rudimental by singing the number one track "Waiting all night". Her dynamic delivery served it's purpose and got the crowd up on their feet and in a state of frenzy as she belted out the notes. Her energy is amazing and despite her movement around the stage, she never compromises form and quality of vocal.

Ella Eyre

Following an all female cast, ex Swedish House Mafia's John Martin restored the gender balance and delighted the crowds with his magnetic stage presence and high octane delivery of two tracks. The singer songwriter expressed his delight at being in Liverpool and bought the house down with his track "Don't you worry child".

John Martin

Paloma Faith took to the stage with a regal air. Accompanied by two backing vocalists, she commanded the stage. Looking fabulous and sounding phenomenal, she sang songs from her album "A Perfect Contradiction" such as "Can't rely on you" and "Only love can hurt like this". Her performance was full of attitude and her connection with the crowd fantastic. She expressed her happiness at being in Liverpool, saying that she had a Southern accent but a Northern mentality. Paloma had the moves and the soulful vibe to boot - great performance.

Paloma Faith

Four piece pop band from Manchester - Rixton bounded on stage and sang three tracks including "Me and My broken heart" Their stage presence was astounding and they were warmly received by the audience who sang along to their tracks word for word. The crowd erupted when lead singer Jake Roche announced that the band had reached number one in the official UK chart.

Rixton

Singer song-writer Jess Glynne notable for her vocals on Clean Bandits single "Rather be" gave a stunning performance of the track followed by a superb performance of "Right here". The arena was alight with energy as a consequence of her dynamic delivery. It was simply brilliant.

Jess Glynne

Neon Jungle four piece girl group performed two tracks including their track "Braveheart" .

Neon Jungle

 Next up on the bill was the singer songwriter Katy B She performed "Crying for no reason", "Aaliyah" and "Lights on".  Katy's set was enjoyable however for me her dancing particularly in "Aaliyah" detracted from the performance. The final track was superb and the bass from the dubstep was fantastic. It resonated around the arena beautifully.

Katy B

His rise to fame has been astronomical and there is no doubt that Sam Smith is worthy of the acclaim that he is currently receiving. The audience loved him and his unassuming delivery. He sang tracks from his album "In The Lonely hour" and the crowd had no problem with singing along enthusiastically to tracks such as "Money on my mind" and "Stay with me". As always a sophisticated and stunning performance by Sam.

Sam Smith

The piece de resistance for many in the audience was the final act Little Mix The performance was on point with strong vocal and choreography. The show stopping performance included tracks such as "Wings" , "Salute" and "How ya Doin". The overall result was a polished set which was more than agreeable to the crowd.

The overall event was well received, it was a a family show with highlights from some of the current chart toppers. The lineup included a big list of artists which meant that it was quite a long evening, especially with songs being played on the large screens in between acts. I look forward to seeing how Winter live in December compares.