Chelsey Chambers at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. May 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

To be invited to open up a gig before a legend of American music must either be a dream come true or a millstone in which heads droop in realisation of the enormity of what has been agreed to. Either way, the only true course of action is to stand up and be counted, shoulders back, guitar primed and let the music flow out of you as if it is the most natural thing in the world to do.

For Irish balladeer Chelsey Chambers, the world of University, of days being surrounded by open fields and the farm she calls home, seems a world and a different time away as she steps out onto the stage of the Philharmonic Hall. She is greeted by the sight of a couple of thousand pairs of eyes waiting patiently for their American hero but for whom many will at least will come away from the evening singing the praises of the young Irish woman who performed with admirable skill and cause to the evening’s entertainment.

Chelsey Chambers voice carries a certain amount of beauty within it, a lilting of the song in which you can only applaud and take notice of, for in the frame of someone being asked to open up for Don McLean, the pressure upon the young shoulders is hard enough but to come through it with plaudits chattering away about the songs in between sets is to be heartened and gratified.

In a short set, Ms. Chambers paved a way for future engagements in the city with great strength of character and a smile that defined the night. The songs, each with their own explanation and sublime conviction, carried across the Philharmonic Hall and settled for a place in the music annals of the city.

Songs such as I’m Falling, In My Shoes, Back Home, Bridesmaids and Who Do You Think You Are? were played with subtle frankness and a beguilement of the soul. Short sets normally never give a true perception of the ability of the artist but in Chelsey Chambers there was enough to know that the experience of opening for a true icon of American music was one that would stand her in good stead for the bright future she has clearly infront of her.

A Liverpool debut under tough conditions which was met with great admiration, it is to be hoped that this young Irish woman will come back again to the home of music culture.

Ian D. Hall