I have rarely seen such diversity in a concert queue. I could hear a Scandinavian language ahead, not something you expect in Liverpool. It was probably Norwegian given that the performer, Sigrid, full name Sigrid Solbakk Raabe, hails from Norway. My suspicion was confirmed when I looked up from my phone. It was two tall blonde women in their mid-20s with small Norwegian flags painted on their cheeks.
The woman in front of me was nearly half their height and three times older. She was a character, a true Liverpudlian. The small woman was constantly looking around, waiting for a friend to who she was speaking on the phone. “It seems that the rain has come straight from Galway,” she remarked, undoubtedly referring to my NUI Galway hat.
There were several groups of students inside the venue. I chose to lean against the wall, just behind a cute millennial couple.
There are few performers who tour as much as Sigrid and still enjoy what they do as she does. Touring musicians are known to complain about the constant travel from an airport to a hotel then onto a stage and finishing the night in a club. Sigrid, however, genuinely admitted that she enjoys the whole experience. Her meaningful songs are a mixture of ballades and boogies.
I saw a girl sitting on her Dad’s shoulders during the concert and spoke with the family afterward. The eldest daughter, Liz Hanlon (aged 14), described Sigrid as “unique, she is not like everyone else.” It was the first time the two sisters have been to a concert. “Definitely,” they said enthusiastically when asked whether they want to go to more. The youngest of the two, Maddi (12), was ecstatic when she discovered that the family would be seeing Sigrid again in Manchester.
The girls’ dad, Eamon, remarked that “it has been a long week.”
“She is just so full of energy,” he said, indicating that the concert was a good Friday night outing. There was a brilliant mix of “different ages” in the crowd, he observed. Eamon concluded that everyone at the concert “gets the positivity and the energy.”
Mum, Courtney, added that “she is just so natural, beautiful, and talented.” “It’s really great,” she declared, comparing Sigrid to a young Kate Bush.
Sigrid will be playing in Dublin’s 3Arena this Thursday, November 24th. Tickets are still available for the concert and can be bought on Ticketmaster here.
Written by Tom O’Connor