English singer/songwriter Billie Marten graced the stage at Edinburgh’s Summerhall on the 4th of December alongside support from Clara Mann. These lines of shows were a progression from a tour earlier in the year, dedicated to her fourth studio album Drop Cherries, that was released in May. The album has been described as “painfully romantic” and a “beautiful collection of intimate feelings” and the live show definitely lived up to these descriptions.
The show was opened by indie-folk singer Clara Mann. In short, I could not think of a more perfect opener for Billie. Clara’s music could only be described as exquisite and delicate soundscapes. With only herself, a guitar, and a soft glow on the stage, Clara created a beautiful atmosphere that made the venue feel ever so intimate and endearing. Clara’s introspective style and complex lyricism left the audience stunned and in awe, every head in the room was fixated on the stage with complete focus and grace. The audience’s reaction to Clara’s set was a clear testament to her vivid talent as the whole venue let out loud cheers and applause. Even after the set finished, I overheard others speak about how beautiful Clara’s voice was. Clara delivered a set list of emotional resonance and delicate words, she set the audience up wonderfully for Billie Marten to begin.
When Billie and her band walked out, everyone’s face in the room lit up – we knew we were in for a special night. The band started first with Billie joining in on her guitar playing a delicate acoustic line. The setlist began with ‘This Is How We Move’, the lead single from Drop Cherries, and the room became instantly tranquil with her peaceful vocals. Billie played an array of songs from her albums over the years, and it was instantly clear that the crowd were fans of every one of them. I found it incredibly poetic that even though the audience evidently knew every lyric to every song, they had sung in such a way that still highlighted Billie’s vocals, quiet enough so that the spotlight was still on her relaxing and heavenly voice.
During one of the songs; ‘Mice’ from Billie’s 2019 album Feeding Seahorses by Hand, the singer made the crowd sway from side to side coherently to the beat of the elegant song. This crowd participation was not only extremely wholesome but also eye opening, I noticed that for the entire 4 minutes, not a single phone or distraction was in sight, everyone in that room was connected and experiencing something with each other, it was immensely beautiful to watch and a clear example of Billie’s talent to seize watchers and keep them captured thoroughly throughout the smoothly curated set.
Billie’s ability to transition between distinct parts of her set was seamless, from taking the stage herself with only a guitar, to bringing her support Clara Mann on stage and singing an acoustic group piece. Despite Billie’s heartfelt lyrics and calmness to her music, her witty and amiable personality shone through at many moments during the hour and a half set, and her interaction with fans was extraordinary. About halfway through the set one of Billie’s strings on her guitar broke, this proceeded into her telling us a story while it was getting fixed, to then also taking it over to the crowd and getting us involved. Some fans would tell jokes and others just have conversations with the singer- it felt incredibly comforting, relaxed and everyone endured many laughs together, vividly showing Billie’s warming relationship she has with her loyal fans.
One of the later songs that billie played in the set was ‘La Lune’, a strikingly breathtaking track from her 2016 album Writing of Blues and Yellows. It was widely apparent that this was a fan favourite, every face in the room swung round with smiles, looking at their friends with joy. The last song that Billie played in the set was another hit from Drop Cherries called ‘I Can’t Get My Head Around You’, a slightly more upbeat yet graceful song, described by the singer that it expressed a sense of homecoming, a clearly perfect track to end the beautifully curated setlist that left fans slightly teary eyed with love. Overall, Billie’s concert can be described as nothing other than ethereal and unambiguously captivating. The artist has a flawless talent for seamless live singing and performance, combined with a pristinely pure natured personality that left the Scottish crowd awestruck.
Written by: Amanda MacEachen
Photographed by: Amanda MacEachen
Edited by: Molly day
