Fans of Gerry Cinnamon would have had their heads in their hands when they read the weather forecast this morning. After months of build up and anticipation for his huge gig at Swansea’s Singleton Park, it’s fair to say forecasts of thunderstorms and heavy showers were less than ideal.
But thankfully the Scottish singer songwriter had nothing to worry about. He was given a typical Welsh welcome with his legion of Welsh fans jockeying for position as he delivered an unforgettable day for all those who were there to witness it.
Taking to the stage to kick off the gig wearing his trademark flat cap and overcoat, he played the brilliant Lulluby and told the crowd: “What a time to be alive” following it up with Sometimes. He said: “Swansea man. Beautiful. Beautiful.” Confetti covered the crowd and it was met with a loud ovation, and added to the spirit of the occasion. His fans chanted his name to the tune of Baby Give It Up.
Cinnamon arrived in Swansea on the back of the success of his second album The Bonny which shot straight to number one in the album charts on its release. But more significantly, he came with a huge reputation as an incredible live performer. And he definitely lived up to the hype. The atmosphere was buzzing throughout the prized Swansea park as the hits kept on coming, including Belter, Sometimes and the brilliant lyric Ghost.
Cinnamon had some great support on the day including indie favourites The Kooks. It was a proper throwback feeling to hear hits from their album Inside In / Inside Out, which the band has been playing extensively worldwide to mark the 15th anniversary of their most famous piece of work. Fans lapped up the likes of She Moves In Her Own Way, Ooh La and Naive. Frontman Luke Pritchard told the crowd: “Amazing to be back in Swansea” although he did attract boos when he praised the Jubilee.
The Reytons proved they are a band we’re definitely going to hear more from in the future as they won the respect of the Swansea crowd by kicking off the day with tracks from their debut album Kids Off The Estate.
The standout moment of the night came with headliner Cinnamon’s performance of Where We’re Going accompanied by a fireworks display. Usually a gig ends with a final song encore from the artist, but Cinnamon finished with an audio track when he had long left the stage. It speaks volumes for his popularity that people stayed back and sung and danced regardless.
Cinnamon plays his second consecutive Welsh gig on Sunday at Cardiff Castle. His performance in Swansea proved he’s on top form, and anyone who has tickets for tomorrow’s gig should be excited.
