Pop gem Caro Emerald dazzles Brighton crowd

Dutch singer Caro Emerald promised to take the audience at the Brighton Centre on a holiday, and with her remarkable vocals and brilliant band she did just that.
Caro Emerald (Photograph: Edward Fielding)Caro Emerald (Photograph: Edward Fielding)
Caro Emerald (Photograph: Edward Fielding)

Her bright, feel-good pop offerings, which have a jazzy, swingy and sometimes Latin feel, were the perfect antidote to the dark, autumn Saturday evening (October 20).

Wearing an outfit that wouldn’t look out of place on Lily Allen, her tunes, like her personal style, ooze 50s cool, studded with more contemporary touches.

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Her lush compositions are on the right side of inoffensive, dreamy but by no means dull.

The songs shimmied and sashayed but maintained a tight, groovy rhythm throughout.

She performed favourites such as ‘Tangled Up’, ‘Absolutely Me’, ‘That Man’ and ‘Riviera Life’, as well as a cover of Camilla Cabello’s catchy hit ‘Havana’.

Her hits are the perfect contrast between the old and the new, with a bouncy, big band sound, fifties style-guitar, backed by modern beats.

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The sound was big enough to fill the huge venue, but Caro did seem a bit perturbed by an initially entirely-seated audience.

Caro Emerald (Photograph: Edward Fielding)Caro Emerald (Photograph: Edward Fielding)
Caro Emerald (Photograph: Edward Fielding)

But with a little encouragement, by the end she’d got the majority up on their feet dancing.

Caro and the gang ended the evening with a bit of audience participation on Bond-inspired ‘A Night Like This’.

It’s no surprise the Radio Two favourite has a string of five-star reviews and sold out shows, and my friend who came along to the gig having never heard a Caro track is now a firm fan.