Sigrid has come a long way since the early days of her career back in 2013. On Thursday evening, she returned to her roots with a cosy show at Bournemouth’s Old Fire Station, as part of the hotly anticipated Intimate Record Store Tour.
To catch stars like Sigrid on stages as small as these is rare, especially when they reach such dizzying heights of fame. The Old Fire Station is one of Bournemouth’s smaller music venues, holding only 1200 fans at maximum capacity. Unless stars head to the International Centre as part of their national arena tours, few artists tour this beautiful corner of the country. But Sigrid made the effort to capture this unique opportunity and performed in partnership with local independent record store Vinilo.
As her two bandmates took their positions on the stage, Sigrid appeared almost sheepishly behind, clearly taken aback by the scale of this packed out, yet intimate venue. To see this many people gathered at the show was clearly overwhelming. “Oh my god, hi everyone!” she giggled with a beaming smile, taking her seat on the centre-stage stool.
Barely elevated above heads in the crowd, it would have been easy to miss the twenty-five-year-old Norwegian songstress. But with her opening track Burning Bridges, all eyes were certainly focused back on her. Taken from her recently released second album How To Let Go, the acoustic performance set the tone for the evening ahead. Accompanied by only two members of her band, this was an opportunity to appreciate Sigrid away from any of her usual high-octane stage antics.
We’re used to seeing Sigrid bounding about on festival stages. This “cosy” tour as she has herself branded it, was a far cry from all the bells and whistles we’re used to. But that is the beauty of gigs like these: you’re able to hear an artist in their rawest, most vulnerable form, especially in venues like The Old Fire Station. The formerly electronically charged Burning Bridges takes on an entirely new persona, and one which creates a whole new dimension to the track. An acoustic release of How To Let Go? Yes please!
Between performances, Sigrid made sure to interact with the crowd, talking about the tour so far and her day spent in the much-loved seaside town. “We’ve had such a cosy day, on this very cosy tour. The beach? It’s insane guys!” For a venue packed with local revellers, this comment was met with roaring response. “I don’t think we’ve ever played Bournemouth before. We’ve had a lovely day in… I can’t remember where… Where was it?” she looks over to her tour manager with a nervous smile. “Bruton? Bruton! We ran around in the fields, and it was so cosy!” Something tells me that Sigrid loves the word cosy…
Bruton is a beautifully picturesque village, with quaint independent pubs backing onto vast green fields in the heart of Somerset. Presumably, and as seen briefly on her Instagram story earlier in the day, the touring group stopped off there on their way down from performing at Bristol’s The Fleece the night before - the perfect place for this Norwegian native to feel somewhat back at home.
Diving head-first into a stripped back version of Thank Me Later, the room fell silent. Approaching the chorus, Sigrid paused the show with professionalism to help a fan in the crowd. There’s been plenty of talk recently regarding safety at shows, and Sigrid displayed awareness and compassion in this fan’s moment of need. Returning to the stage a few minutes later, she checked back in. “Is everyone okay? I know it’s hot in here. Are you happy for us to start that one again?”
Cherry picking tracks from the new record, fans were treated to some of her personal favourites including Risk of Getting Hurt and It Gets Dark. A seven-track show may seem shorter than normal, and that was a notion felt amongst the crowd when Sigrid announced that she was approaching the end of her set. Yet this is somewhat normal for intimate, record store shows. One of the greatest renditions from the evening was without doubt, A Driver Saved My Night. Offering a completely new spin on the festival ready track, it was a testament to her seemingly natural ability to reinvent herself with every twist and turn.
Coming to her penultimate song, it was the perfect opportunity for Sigrid to share an emotional delivery of her latest single, Bad Life. Featuring the Bring Me The Horizon boys, the album’s version erupts into a heartfelt admission of hardship and struggle. Yet somehow, this acoustic version struck another chord; only further emphasising the emotional weight this song carries. “It’s a song called Bad Life, I’m really really proud of this one. And it fits well because its mental health awareness week this week”
Away from her bandmates, with just Sigrid and her piano sharing the stage together, it was impossible not to be moved by this performance. The track is a touching reminder that no matter how hard things may seem, there’s always a glimmer of hope to be found and held onto – a notion we should all remember given events around the world right now.
Ending with the record’s second to last track Grow, it was yet another example of Sigrid’s raw vocal talent, harmonising effortlessly with female bassist, Liva Svaeren. Throughout the entire evening, their seamlessly rich vocal blend was something to appreciate and bask in. Their voices together add an entirely new dimension to these heavily produced tracks, something that the album doesn’t necessarily neglect, but rather display to fans. Bowing out of the evening with an a cappella take on the track’s final lines, “Take me anywhere, I’m home”, it really embodied the intimate aspect of this show. So long as there’s music, shared amongst some of your favourite people, anywhere can feel like home.
Later this year, she embarks on a UK Arena Tour that contrasts heavily from this performance at The Old Fire Station, no doubt fuelled by thumping synths and that signature Sigrid sound. Without a shadow of doubt, it will be another show of her talents to impress fans both new and old. But whilst hours could have been spent watching Sigrid immerse herself in her heavily anticipated new record, instead, half an hour was all fans were treated to this evening.
Played out by Jose Gonzales’ Heartbeats, it was a beautifully mellow end to a wonderful, if not all too short evening with Sigrid.
*This piece was first published on Loop Magazine in May 2022*
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