The Attic in Leeds is a small but charming venue – adorned with fairy lights and disco balls and furnished with sofas to make for a cosy, warm space. So there was nowhere better for folk singer Clara Mann to stop on tour for her debut album ‘Rift’, released in March of this year, treating us all with an hour-long set composed of music old and new. Her voice and the sweetness of the setting worked in tandem to conjure up pure magic on an unsuspecting Tuesday evening.
The night began with an opening set from Neve Cariad, an artist from Leeds. Neve played a half an hour long acoustic set, immediately hooking the audience with her stunning vocals. Her soft, stripped back plays set the tone for the rest of the night, as she transformed melancholia into beauty right before our ears.
There was an interlude before Clara came on, for audience goers to quench their thirst and gush about the performance they’d just witnessed. Gentle soul soundtracked our babble, until Rihanna’s ‘Take A Bow’ started unexpectedly playing. This abrupt vibe shift marked Clara’s entrance, as she strutted onto stage with her guitar.
She played her new album ‘Rift’, mesmerising us with her musical talent as she stood on the stage alone, solely singing and strumming her strings. In between songs, she fed us anecdotes – “the last time I came to Leeds I stayed in an AirBNB without glass in its windows!” – her charm extending beyond her harmonies.
Her playing single ‘Stadiums’ stood out as the highlight of the night, as the room practically stood still as she sang: “Sometimes you call, so I never sleep”. Beautiful and haunting, her notes lingered in the crowd long after the song ended, and long after we all burst into loud applause.
Both Neve Cariad and Clara Mann are forces to be reckoned with, and ones to watch, as they step towards bigger stages. But just for this Tuesday night, audiences relished the closeness of the intimate show.
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