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| Pixie Lott at the Warrington Festival |
Date: September 19 2015
Location: Bank Park, Warrington
The Warrington Festival is a brand new series of events, held over a three-week period, which are designed to celebrate sport, culture and entertainment within the area. Consisting of 25 events in 25 days, there are a vast group of organisers partnering to stage events in the local area, such as Warrington Borough Council, LiveWire, Contest Sports, Warrington Wolves, Culture Warrington and Warrington & Co.
And it kicked off with a bang on Saturday night, September 19, with a memorable pop music event that was headlined by Pixie Lott, in her only North-West performance of the year.
Pixie, who is currently writing a new album in preparation for next year, wowed the Warrington faithful with an exciting and eye-catching round-up of her most memorable hits so far, including Boys and Girls, Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh), Turn It Up and Gravity. Perhaps her most notable performance was her final tune, which was a great rendition of All About Tonight, whilst accompanied by the Warrington BSL Choir (the choir largely consists of people who are completely or partially deaf). It was a memorable moment, and one that was very well-received by the many who came to Bank Park to see the lady who has had three UK #1s, sold more than 4 million singles and 1.6 million albums, and has been viewed on YouTube over 60 million times.
Having recently holidayed in Mykonos, Greece, and with her main priority at present being her 2016 album, it was a credit to the performer that Pixie has become that this was a standout performance in its own right which should have Pixie fans who couldn't have been in attendance wishing that they had been. Lott even showed off a unique new hairstyle, highlighted by a streak of light green dye down the centre. She has already enjoyed a very successful career so far, but if her next album lives up to the standard set by her previous work and from performances such as this one, the best may be yet to come for Pixie Lott.
Although Pixie was the headline act, there were other performers who planted their own unique stamp on this event. The show opened with Ellie Dibben, a rising star who has already released several original hits and was making her biggest appearance to date at the Warrington Festival. And she impressed onlookers with a mixture of her own music and some popular tunes by Taylor Swift; she even had the crowd on their feet when she was providing free wristbands, a possible future momento should she reach the heights of stars like Pixie. A good start, then, especially considering that Ellie is only 17-years-old.
We then had something different with Viola Beach, a local band who have previously performed at such venues as The Cavern Club in Liverpool, and the semi-headliner was Kiera Weathers, who has already gained many new fans via her recent audition on The X Factor. Weathers is already considered one of the favourites to win the ITV1 talent show and could be the one to watch in 2016. With her audition fresh in mind, and as a barmaid from nearby St Helen's, it was a treat to see Kiera singing live here, and her performance was a very good one which showed her range and her rising confidence in front of large crowds. Most notable was her rendition of We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off, the tune which saw her successfully advance on The X Factor.
Overall, I felt that this was a very entertaining night of music, displaying a range of styles and providing fun for all ages and genders, and a great start to the showcase that is the Warrington Festival. There are many different events to come as part of the Festival, including a marathon, a Museum of Gaming exhibition and a Rugby League Heritage tour, but this will stand out as one of the key highlights when all is said and done. Every performer delivered and attendance was good, which raises hopes that this inaugural Warrington Festival will be the beginning of a new tradition. And if the opening music show for 2016 is as good as the 2015 kick-off, then there will be plenty of entertainment to come!
Overall Rating: 8.5/10 - Excellent
