Review: Rae Morris at Bodega

5 STARS *****

Have you ever asked yourself: ‘What would I say if I ever met someone famous?’ Well, so have I, but I can assure you, no amount of preparation is enough! I first met Rae last year at a small gig at Birmingham’s Institute. She was hanging out at the bar before heading on stage, and I approached her. Sophisticated thoughts were swarming around my head as I walked towards her: ‘talk about the symbolism in her brilliant music video for ‘Skin’’, I pondered, or ‘ask her who her musical influences are’. But all I could manage was an awkward ‘Hi…I think you’re so cool.’ While I cringe now, Rae was lovely and said that I was the ‘cool’ one (I doubt it), before posing for a photo with me.

Well, five months have passed since that fateful evening, and after a summer that has seen her career blossom spectacularly following collaborations with Bombay Bicycle Club and Clean Bandit, and a headlining set on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds festivals, Rae finished the last leg of her tour at the Bodega, Nottingham. Having previously seen her perform to a crowd of no more than twenty onlookers, I was concerned the intimacy of her performance might be lost to the larger audience of the Bodega, but Rae’s talent and humble responses to cheers created an atmosphere unlike any other. With the close of each song she would lower her head and smile as the crowd applauded her incredible vocals, and both her and the band seemed to perform together with a genuine joy.

Rae opened her set with ‘Grow’, a slow and steady tune that showed off the depth to her voice, shortly before performing the new single from her EP ‘Closer’, much to the delight of the packed house. The Lancashire-born singer-songwriter took the crowd from the upbeat ‘Closer’ to the raw and emotional ‘Don’t Go’, during which the room fell into silence as she sang accompanied only by her piano. Finishing on a high note with ‘Do You Even Know’, Rae left the stage to a bellowing applause which could only mean one thing…encore! She returned with ‘Not Knowing’ and ‘Love Again’ and ended both the gig and her summer with a roaring response from the Nottingham crowd.

The humility of Rae, and her clear passion for performing shined through last night. With an album soon to be released, she is fast becoming well-known in the British music industry as a talented artist and downright lovely (and ‘cool’) lady! 

You can listen to Rae’s new single here:

Edited by Harriet Dunlea.

• live music
• Nottingham
• review