Skyline Series: Triple Bill in Birmingham

The Skyline Series brought a remarkable series of events to Bristol and Birmingham towards the end of the Summer months.

I was delighted to see a fabulous triple-bill in Birmingham on Saturday 31 August, with headliners Texas accompanied by Imelda May and Ward Thomas.

In mid-July it was announced the venue was changing from the open-air, standing-only Digbeth Arena to the Birmingham Symphony Hall, causing disgruntlement in some quarters but this was actually the clinching factor in my decision to attend my first Birmingham gig since seeing Patty Griffin at the intimate Glee Club back in 2013.

The Symphony Hall is similar in style to both The Sage in Gateshead and Manchester's Bridgewater Hall; very comfortable, with fantastic acoustics.

A triple-bill always means an early start and Ward Thomas opened the evening's entertainment at 6.45 p.m.

This was my third time seeing Ward Thomas, following their appearance at 2016's Under the Apple Tree Festival of 2016 (again with a Patty Griffin connection) and their support slot for Miranda Lambert in August 2017. They were very good the first time around and play with increasing strength and confidence each time.

.

With a third album imminent, they are building up an impressive repertoire and this set featured big-hitters such as Cartwheels and Guilty Flowers plus new material, including their current single, Lie Like Me.

Imelda May presented an extremely powerful set from 8.00 p.m. onwards, connecting rapidly with the audience in exactly the same way as she had done when I first saw her at The Sage, back in 2016.

.

Starting with Call Me from the Life Love Flesh Blood album, which she sang from a chair, lights dulled, brought an immediate design of intimacy to the evening.The set was crafted perfectly to build in intensity as the evening wore on, moving through more extraordinary material from the same album (Including It Should Have Been You; Black Tears; Leave Me Lonely; Human and Sixth Sense) before hitting a high-powered, rockabilly finale with Mayhem and Johnny Got a Boom Boom. An absolute masterclass!

.

.

.

.

Texas hit the stage for the concluding session of the evening to deliver an energetic and crowd-pleasing set covering the whole length of their impressive career: I Don't Want a Lover; Halo; Guitar Song...they were all there, plus many more besides. Sharleen Spiteri was on absolutely dominant form and the evening ended on a magnificent high when Texas played an encore of Suspicious Minds, which very nearly brought the house down.

I had wanted to see Texas for some time and they proved well worth the wait.

What a sensational evening!

.

.

.

. 

.

. 

.