CLAIRO — MANCHESTER, UK.

Clairo is just excellent. I’m not even going to start this review with some fancy intro or anything, just diving straight in with my complete adoration for the artist known as Clairo. Her 2024 record Charm is one of my favorites from last year - its lush instrumentation and emotionally charged lyricism blend well. The subsequent headline tour came to a close with a second night in Manchester's O2 Apollo.

Opening the night was June McDoom. She was the perfect opener for Clairo, her airy vocals and soft tunes filled the Apollo walls. Opening with the aptly named ‘Piano Song’ before moving into ‘Stone After Stone’. The bulk of her set is filled with unnamed and unreleased music but as she closes with ‘On My Way’, she’s got the crowd warmed and ready for Clairo.

As the lights dim around 9:00, Clairo and her band take to the stage. The smoky silhouette of Clairo taking centre stage as they kick off with ‘Nomad’ getting the whole crowd singing along. One thing that was immediately noticeable was the sound quality. Helped by the acoustic treatment in the Apollo, Clairo’s vocals were crisp in the air and each guitar strum rang out nicely.

As she weaved through the opening tracks there was a mix of Charm music and tracks from her earlier years. ‘Softly’ leads nicely into ‘Flaming Hot Cheetos’ and there’s never a moment the crowd lose interest. Hanging onto every word Clairo sings there’s many times the choir of the audience takes over Clairo's vocals. The middle portion of her set focuses on some more deep cuts from Charm with ‘Terrapin’ and ‘Echo’. My personal favourite track ‘Add Up My Love’ finds it’s way into the middle here with Clairo flowing about the stage effortlessly.

She’s clearly emotional about bringing the tour to a close, having to take a step back during ‘Slow Dance’ and allowing the audience to sing once again before bringing the set into the final stretch. There's a reworked version of ‘4EVER’ which sounds great before Clairo plays the rare ‘Steeeam’ from her side project Shelly. It’s straight hits from here to the end of the set.

I’ve rarely heard a crowd as loud as when the intro to ‘Bags’ rang out in the Apollo hall. Clearly cathartic for a lot of the crowd to be belting these lyrics at the top of their voices “can you see me I’m waiting for the right time”. And to immediately be able to follow up with ‘Sexy To Someone’ speaks to the strength of Clairo’s music. Viral hit ‘Juna’ takes the penultimate slot as the crowd prepare to give their all for the closer: the recently revived ‘Sofia’ - having made it’s return to the set earlier this year after many years away. For many, it may have been the track that introduced them to Clairo’s music - and to round out the tour this way feels special.

A truly spectacular gig capped off a long world tour - but it’s not quite over yet. A few festival appearances over the next year give fans more chances to see Clairo. I personally cant wait to be hearing these tracks again in the beautiful Hyde Park sun.