Melancholic and melodic - American singer Weyes Blood mesmerises the SWX Bristol crowd

The American folk-pop singer Natalie Mering’s Bristol show was a sell-out
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There was a genuine buzz around SWX for this rare UK gig from Weyes Blood - a.k.a. LA-based Natalie Mering.

Fans queued around the block before the show, some telling me they had driven from Swindon to see the folk-pop singer on this fleeting UK visit.

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Such a devoted following seems appropriate for Mering, who was born into a deeply religious born-again Pentecostal Christian family in California.

Before she took to the stage, support act Sam Burton performed a set of stripped back folk songs that recalled Tim Buckley and Rufus Wainwright.

He was joined by Lady Apple Tree who contributed some beautiful backing vocals and then played one of her own songs, Didn’t Wanna Have to do It.

Although their individual performances impressed, their voices were also a perfect fit when they came together for duets.

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Weyes Blood hit the stage running with opener It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody, from new album And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow.

Hearts definitely started to glow around the packed venue as soon as she appeared, gliding around a stage illuminated by 30 candles.

There is a shimmering melancholy about the melodic folk-pop of songs like Children of the Empire but Mering’s stage demeanour is light-hearted despite the intensity of the subject matter.

At one point, she even asked fans for medical advice for the grazed knees she sustained at her London show earlier in the week.

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When Andromeda started, the whole crowd starting swaying, Mering’s powerful voice hovering above the crowd but hitting each corner of the room.

By the end of the set, the singer seemed genuinely appreciative of the response from her fans and quickly returned for the encore, throwing roses into the crowd.

There was still time to bring out the beautiful ballad A Given Thing, the crowd swaying with eyes closed, soaking up every last moment of a mesmerising gig they won’t forget in a hurry.

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