Melissa Etheridge, Town Hall, Birmingham - review

The Grammy Award-winning All American Girl was surrounded by adoring fans at the Town Hall concert; many of which leapt to their feet and cheered with delight the second she appeared - and remained stood, flocking around the front of the stage, for the entire two-hour gig.

“Hello Birmingham, how are you? I’m pleased to be back in your town. It’s been so long,” beamed the 57-year-old star.

“Tonight we’re celebrating an album I put out 25 years ago.”

It may be a quarter of a century since she released Yes I Am, but each and every rendition of the album’s tracks was absolutely faultless; Melissa stunning not only with her uniquely strong, deep, raspy vocals, but also on electric and acoustic guitar and harmonica.

The crowd was treated to an array of other songs too, ranging from 80s numbers, to a brand new song from her upcoming album The Medicine Show, Wild and Lonely, of which Birmingham fans were given a ‘world premiere’.

A stand-out highlight from the Kansas-born musician was her performance of 1995 hit I Want To Come Over, which was stunningly pitch-perfect and astonishingly powerful.

When she wasn’t rocking fans’ socks off with heavier, faster-paced songs, her varied set also saw Melissa give gorgeous renditions of slower numbers such as You Can Sleep While I Drive and Talking To My Angel, both of which were nothing short of mesmerising and spine-tingling.

Her band was superbly talented too, with an outstanding bassist, a great drummer, and a skilled keyboardist who also played guitar and Chapman Stick.

Between each wonderful performance, Melissa told tales of how she started out in the music industry - praising her father for driving her around and taking her to various bars to perform as a young teen - her experience of coming out as a lesbian in the early 90s, and her triumphant battle with cancer - of which she has thankfully now been free for 15 years.

Beloved hits Come To My Window, I’m The Only One and Bring Me Some Water had fans enthusiastically singing along as Melissa stunned on stage with outstanding range, strength and vivacity.

Following a short break, the star returned for an encore with 1988 hit Like The Way I Do, which she performed with absolute excellence, even playfully joining the drummer on his kit towards the end.

Prior to last night I had never seen Melissa Etheridge in concert, but held very high expectations for her live show - and her extraordinary gig far exceeded my hopes.

An absolutely astounding, unforgettable concert.

Thank you Melissa, please come back soon.