AFTER nearly two weeks of clear blue skies and sweltering sunshine, the crowd at Westonbirt Arboretum were at their summer best for the Jessie J gig on Friday night; the first of the second set of concerts hosted by the Forestry Commission every summer.
While the mums and dads set out the picnics and enjoyed a well deserved glass of something cold, the younger audience worked themselves into a frenzy of excitement in anticipation.Support act AME did a good job of buoying the crowd up with some catchy dance-pop numbers, most notably Need U (100%), which, in collaboration with Duke Dumont, topped the UK singles charts in April this year.
But the atmosphere only really ignited as Jessie opened proceedings with her most famous hit, Price Tag. 'It's not about the money, money, money', she sang, and it really didn't feel like it was. Sporting a buzz cut thanks to a charity head shave, her stage persona is certainly full-on and she made every one of her fans in the audience special.
Plenty of interaction is always appreciated at the Westonbirt venue and Jessie didn't disappoint, especially 11-year-old Bella, whose Jessie J facemask the singer donned, signed, kissed and returned.
But at just 25 years of age, Jessie's back catalogue of well-known tunes is relatively small, and as her main hits were saved for the encore, she gained a fair bit of mileage over the middle ground with a series of 80s R&B classics. Chaka Khan's Ain't Nobody and Never Too Much, by Luther Vandross, were despatched faultlessly with the aid of some outstanding backing vocals and a very talented band
"Who's ready to go wild?" shouts Jessie, as she comes back on for an impressive encore. Do It Like A Dude was thankfully toned down for the younger ears, while made-up-on-the-spot Wave Your Flip-Flip in the Air had the whole crowd singing along - proof, if any were needed, of Jessie's ability to create a catchy harmony with just a simple idea and a great vocal range.
Laserlight, Wild and Domino brought proceedings to a close on a real high note, leaving the way clear for Paul Weller on Saturday night. As Jessie said: "I've had a blast tonight Westonbirt, thank you.". And so have we, Jessie.
