DYLAN - MANCHESTER, UK.
DYLAN at the o2 Ritz, Manchester (07/02/2023).
with support from Siights.
This isn't my first time seeing Dylan, having been introduced to her from her single 'You're Not Harry Styles', she quickly gained some viral attention before going on a major tour - opening for Ed Sheeran. This is however the first time I've seen her in her own headline show, and despite being early on in her career, she's ready for the spotlight.
Support for the night came from two piece Siights. I had no idea who they were or that they were supporting but the first thing I've done since leaving the gig is add them to my playlist. They were fantastic, the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand and lapping up their easy going guitar tunes.
Dylan's set started with a bang, exploding onto the stage to mixtape cut 'Lovestruck'. It's an energetic opener that gets the crowd going and singing along from the get go. From her she bursts straight into 'The Greatest Thing' from her most recent project, 'The Greatest Thing I'll Never Learn'. The two songs work well to kick off the set and after a brief band introduction she goes back to the start of her music career.
'Nineteen' comes next, with more crowd singalong and a killer guitar solo added before Dylan takes time to teach the crowd lyrics to her next single 'Every Heart But Mine' - of course coming next in the setlist. Its a power pop anthem and I'm ready for a full release.
In Dylan's own words, the 'sad girl' portion of the set comes next. 'Someone Else', 'Blue', and 'Home Is Where The Heart Is' change the tone slightly - from the bad bitch breakup anthems to softer heartbreak songs. A nice moment happened during the final of the three songs, with the crowd raising paper hearts during the chorus, seemingly catching Dylan off guard and raising the emotion.
The set kicks back into energetic mode, with some more upbeat guitar pop including viral track 'Girl Of Your Dream's', when I last saw Dylan this was unreleased with only a snippet on TikTok, and to hear it for the first time since its release with a strong crowd was great.
Asking the crowd to not record the next song heralded mixed results, I'd be lying if I said I didn't catch a video when she started playing 'Kiwi' by Harry Styles but it's an incredible tune that needed documenting. What do you play after covering Harry Styles? Your breakout single about how your ex isn't Harry Styles of course - the aforementioned 'You're Not Harry Styles'.
Dylan closed the short but sweet set with an incredible performance of 'Nothing Lasts Forever', extending the final chorus out and letting the crowd take over.
It may have been a short headline set, but Dylan is a naturally energetic
performer. She never missed a beat and it's only a matter of time before she's playing bigger stages, revealing she's touring again before the end of the year.
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