Featured image and gallery: Gracie Hall
New Jersey-born Adam Melchor opens the evening with a charming acoustic set. ‘Peach’ is a
cute song about knowing you’re with someone who isn’t meant for you, but enjoying your
moments anyway. His clear and powerful voice captures everyone’s attention, perfectly
setting up the rest of the night.
Laufey glides onto stage in a dazzling pink dress to the delighted screams of her devotees.
With a glittering array of lights as her backdrop, she moves into a fan favourite, ‘Falling
Behind’, which lays out her journey as she moved from her home country Iceland to LA as a
teenager. “Everybody’s falling in love and I’m falling behind,” resonates. Showcasing her
many talents, Classically trained, Laufey performs ‘Beautiful Stranger’ with her cello, tipping
her hat to Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
Laufey takes a moment to encourage the crowd to make whatever music feels right to
them. As an artist of a less conventional genre for her age, she felt pressured into not
pursuing this style of music. However, her persistence is paying off, as only the week before
she won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal. Laufey’s voice is the highlight of her
music. It’s velvety and smooth and commands the complete attention of the entire room.
During ‘Best Friend’ she brings her twin sister, Junia, on stage, who accompanies her with a
violin. A touching tribute to their relationship, it tells a story of two best friends who love
each other dearly yet, still manage to drive each other insane. ‘Lovesick’ is another
standout, where Laufey’s vocals are more powerful than her usual soft spoken style. It
solidifies her versatility, and perhaps hints at her future direction.
She closes the night with Junia joining in on ‘From the Start’, followed by a two-song encore
of ‘Letter to my 13-Year-Old Self’ and a cover of Mitzi Green’s ‘My Funny Valentine’. It
finishes off this magical Valentine’s night, which the audience will remember for many
Valentine’s to come.
Featured image and gallery: Hoang Phan Notebooks were carried from one workshop to another. Writers from different generations sat around tables, sharing manuscripts and listening to each other. Outdoors, small groups strolled along Oxford Road, pausing before buildings steeped in literary history. This was the scene during the Manchester Writing School Summer Festival 2026, held…
Featured image: Katja Ogrin With many sore heads and limbs this morning after the most hardcore day of the festival taking place yesterday, many are recovering from the moshing and pit brutality of the previous day’s antics. As the tradition of a morning movie in the Serpents Lair prevails, the crowd sprawls out onto the plush,…
Featured image: Abbi Draper After an electrifying start to the weekend, with temperatures slowly climbing, many lather themselves in suncream, shed their band shirts and rise from their tents to trek towards the arena. Saturday has big things incoming for the humans of Bloodstock 2026. Some pace themselves for the day and hide from the early…
Featured image: Abbi Draper After a memorable Thursday opener, Bloodstock 2026 opens its gates once again onto the Hallowed Grounds of Catton Park, kicking off day two of its 25th-anniversary celebration of metal. As the sun rises on Catton Park, festivalgoers emerge from their tents to prepare for another day of mayhem. The morning brings…
Leave a reply