Live review: Radiant newcomer Dionne steps into the light with sparkling show
Long-time multi-instrumentalist Dionne proved that "oxtail in a slow cooker" soul is exactly what was needed on a bitter cold Sheffield night.
Dionne Douglas has spent the last seven years proving herself to be the most trusted acolyte of world-renowned bands and touring talents you've definitely heard of.
Yet her rise through the scene has been a steady but well earned one as she has been the talented trick behind the curtain, wielding a violin as her shield and providing those soaring backing vocals as her sword that make for a wickedly atmospheric pulse within her set.
Dionne’s transition to center stage feels less like a well earned debut and more like a coronation of a warrior-ready musician prepped for battle.
Accompanied by her two other band members, Dionne marched out into Sheffield's cavernous Utilita Arena, an environment that usually swallows solo acts whole – but she looked remarkably at home.
And knowing her background it makes complete sense; she’s played these rooms a hundred times before, just three feet to the left of the spotlight.
But on a cold dry Yorkshire evening, supporting in a trio of tremendous acts to take to the stage at tonight’s show, Dionne centre stage, made her stake into the music world with a focused dart that hit the backboard with a blistering bullseye.
Her elegant energy, that she’s been simmering away at in the studio, finally bubbled over into the cauldron of the Steel City stands.
Opening with the glitchy, yet atmospheric pulse of ‘Out Of My Mind’, Dionne immediately claimed her buried treasure sound that sits somewhere between the avant-soul of her stage-sisters (Laura Mvula) and the widescreen cinematic indie that featured so prominently in the act she so happens to support tonight.
Her tried tone and driven meoldies were a blistering blend of whole-hearted music that feels lived-in and breathed in.
When she hit the pre-chorus to her track When Sky Falls, the arena seemed to shrink to the size of a pea; as her voice possesses a technical precision that usually takes decades to hone, yet it carried a raw, vulnerable edge that feels startlingly contemporary.
And the Birmingham born talent was sure to provide the night’s most grounded moment of connection.
There was no hiding behind capes or dry ice, just a multi-instrumentalist finally allowing her own vision to breathe the space it deserved, in the confines of an arena setting.
She might have spent years aiding someone else’s dream, but on the evidence of tonight in the Steel City's icy dome, Dionne is more than ready to build a cathedral of her own, built on the brilliance of genre-bending sounds and poetic-attent lyricisms.
Myself and a sea of fans old and young were treated to the bright new arrival of a major solo force tonight, ready to throw her long awaited hat into the music ring.