Saint Raymond first garnered serious critical acclaim with the release of his debut Escapade EP, showcasing his spirited style and knack for crafting undeniably catchy tunes packed with palpable emotion. The release of his debut album Young Blood in 2015 and a coveted support slot with Ed Sheeran saw Callum Burrows (Saint Raymond) garner a legion of fans nationwide.
Just a small proportion of his fanbase crammed into the cosy yet spacious attic at Liverpool’s Arts Club to witness his invigorating live set. First up was Harry Miller, who enthralled with his emotion-driven tracks which ardently chronicled feelings of loss and nostalgia. As excitement began to build, Casey Lowry descended onto the stage to play a set filled with summer-inspired indie-pop bops. One criticism of his half an hour set is that the similarity of most of the tracks he passionately performed meant every single anthemic chorus seemed to hopelessly blend into one another. However, he won the affection of the now full Arts Club with a couple of masterly performed covers and a performance of his standout track ‘Trampoline’.
Thankfully not long after Casey Lowry vacated the stage, Saint Raymond embarked onto the stage to thrill with a brainstorming performance of ‘Young Blood’, which was filled with the same elated energy that radiated from the stage when Saint Raymond first started playing the track years ago. After playing fan favourite ‘Everything She Wants’, Saint Raymond rattled off the first recent release of the night ‘Younger’, which was met with a rapturous sing-along from the bewitched crowd.
Saint Raymond’s recently released tracks such as ‘Dancing’ and ‘Carried Away’ effortlessly slotted in between the tracks that initially propelled him to success. Although his newly released material represents a slight sonic shift in his sound, the same infectious energy and authentic song-writing is still ever-present. His most recent release ‘Echo’ serves as shining testament to this fact. Although, it was released merely a few weeks ago it was vigorously greeted by fans as if it was always a staple of Saint Raymond’s set.
After a powerful performance of ‘Fall At Your Feet’ Saint Raymond, along with his three-piece band, left the stage followed by deafening demands for an encore. Returning to the stage solo, Callum performed his beloved tracks ‘Movie on My Mind’ and ‘As We Are Now’. Without the distractions of shimmering guitars and pulsating drums, Saint Raymond’s beautifully emotive songwriting effortlessly shined through.
The allure of Callum’s textured vocal fully encapsulated the respective sentiments of the two acoustic tracks, with fans more than happy to join in with unprompted sing-alongs. Clearly revelling in the deafening loudness of the crowd’s collective vocals, Callum’s smile endearingly beamed illuminating the packed venue. Now with the accompaniment of his band, Saint Raymond thrilled with ‘Bonfires’ and a dazzling energetic performance of ‘Ghosts’. Greeted by a euphoric final cheer from the crowd, it’s clear that neither Saint Raymond or the enamoured audience wanted the night to end.
His Liverpool show was just one of 16 sold out dates on his UK tour, evidencing that even though he practically disappeared after his post-debut album tour his fan’s adoration for his music never dissipated. His upcoming 2019 tour will see Saint Raymond bring his feel-good indie-pop anthems to Brighton, London, Bristol and Manchester next March. This tour will likely offer his devout fans the first glimpse of brand-new tracks from his forthcoming second album, due for release sometime in 2019. It’s safe to say that if his sophomore release is in any way like its’ predecessor then it’ll be completely unmissable, just like Saint Raymond’s captivating live set.
