Critical popcorn

Last week, the Plymouth Summer Sessions arrived for the first time, and it’s genuinely exciting and outstanding to see world class talents up on the ‘Hoe,’ and that’s the name of the huge south-facing open public space looking out to sea, if you’re new to the area! All four days saw a wealth of music fans arrive to enjoy the headline acts of Tom Jones, Bryan Adams, Madness and Sting, all with decades of success across the Globe, as well as a host of brilliant support acts to make it a proper mini festival on our local Devon seafront.

After a windswept and soggy, yet joyful, first night with the likes of Stone Foundation, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Gabrielle (who always puts on a top show), it was all rounded off with the iconic Tom Jones strutting his stuff to a rain-soaked crowd, loving the escapism – even if the weather was trying to wash them away!

But then day two arrived with welcome bouts of sunshine – although some heavy rain between support sets saw a volume of people retreat to ‘The Garden‘ beer tent (as we’d been welcomingly invited to the VIP section), and this was an enjoyable way to immerse in the gigs to come. While you can venture into the entire arena setup, the Garden tickets meant you had your own separate bar area, slightly posher toilets but also – the big pull – a directly closer section to the main stage on the right-hand side, meaning you might just be able to get a little closer to your musical heroes.

Opening Friday night was the Cornish-based Sam Richardson & The Renegades, who bring a really impressive sound, emulating the likes of Sam Fender, and even a hopeful touch of Bruce Springsteen, with stadium guitar sounds and echoing motifs which picked up beautifully in the venue. They tried their absolute best to get the early crowd singing along, with success, and it’s clear they’re heading in the right direction when it comes to hitting the big notes.

Next up were Sheffield-born indie-rock outfit Vivas, who also chatted with the crowd, and tried to keep the energy up, they had a slight Liam Gallagher/Kasabian/later-Manic Street Preachers vibe going on, and musically tight, but noticeably lingering between what sound they’re trying to hone. I can’t say anything negative though, and there’s definitely room to grow, specially lyrically, which were limiting their song expansiveness.

And then… there was the glorious explosion of Cassyette. I had heard of her – but not seen the live show – and this was a revelation of a performance. Amalgamating punk and heavy metal, for the artist who co-wrote Bambie Thug’s unforgettable Eurovision 2024 entry, the energy and pure life she brought to the stage was sheer power, alongside the control of a guitarist and drummer (hugely talented as well) but who lingered more on the fringes as they made the stage their own.

In some ways, the performance might have broken some of the older Adams’ crowd but in a good way, as although it might not have been to their usual tastes, everyone remained transfixed. Cassyette is effectively the best hype artist you could have when you need a vitality boost, packed with killer vocals, a strong stage presence and top notch heavy pop-punk-metal tunes, she was an unexpectedly refreshing and beautifully fierce act for the early evening, and absolutely brought the day to life – and then some.

And, before you knew it, the sun kicked in through the clouds just as headliner hit the stage, and then Bryan Adams, the legendary Canadian, brought his experience and a wealth of hits, mixed in with the new. He’s another who knows not only how to work a crowds, but what they’re after, and song after song, you realise the depth of his time in the industry, but also how many huge tunes he’s written after some 40 years at the top of the game with the likes of Summer of ‘69, Run To You and Everything I Do, I Do It For You – to name a few. Recommended in every respect, through all weathers from drizzle, to mizzle all the way to the sunshine, he thankfully can’t stop that thing he started…

And Plymouth Summer Sessions weren’t done yet, with Saturday taking on Fez-craziness with Madness bringing their unique sounds to the big stage, accompanied by openers Hardwicke Circus, and then huge crowd favourites in both The Zutons and the Lightning Seeds, encouraging singalongs aplenty! Sunday finished the big weekend off, and I would have been there had it not been for train issues, to first see Aussie family pop trio Germein bring their fun to the Plymouth stage, followed by the never-stopping Debbie Harry and Blondie bringing out their best – still to this day!

Then the sessions ended with Sting, bringing with him a lower key band, as he does love a big show to put on in the past, but this time with the support of a guitar, a bass, and the drums but it didn’t stop the big hits coming. From other friends reports, he hadn’t played the city since the late seventies, so before my time, but it’s great he finally came back to share the hits in a huge life of successes in many walks of his being. With songs such as So Lonely, Message in a Bottle, Englishman in New York, Shape of my Heart (which I adore and the film, Leon, from which it used in the credits), plus King of Pain and then even an encore with… yes, Roxanne! What a way to end, and what a joy to have proper big acts down here in Devon out in the open air – and we kept it going, in all weather!

Plymouth Summer Sessions 2025 is already rumoured, and let’s hope it just grows and grows – as they’ve got the space!

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