Gig review: Cork's Marquee on fire for songstress Mimi Webb
Mimi Webb at Live at the Marquee, Cork. Picture: Play Creative
You'd have to feel a little bad for the mostly Gen Z audience at Friday night's Live at the Marquee concert.
After a week of glorious sunshine, it was a grey and gloomy walk from Cork city centre to Monahan Rd for Mimi Webb’s first gig on Leeside.
However, the change in the weather failed to dampen spirits as the young crowd dressed to impress, with shorts, skirts, and a lot of bare limbs.
The fashion was well suited to the heat in the venue, and crowd safety staff are to be commended for ensuring cups of water were flowing out to audience members throughout the gig.
There was a big ‘start of summer’ and ‘end of exams’ atmosphere in the air, with the distinct feeling that school is most definitely out for summer.
Opening on Friday night was Kildare singer Lea Heart, and given the hugely enthusiastic response to her appearance on stage, and the crowd rushing in for her slot, you’d be forgiven for thinking she was the headline act.
Heart, 22, sang through many tunes that the audience loved, from those she penned herself such as ‘Don’t Tell Me’ and ‘IDK Why’ to a cover of Lily Allen’s 2009 hit ‘It’s Not Fair’.
She has huge stage presence and interacted well with the crowd, telling them to “blow the roof off this tent” and even snapping a BeReal from the stage with a fan’s phone.
It’s surely only a matter of time before she has her own Marquee show — she’s certainly one to watch.
Webb, meanwhile, has had a whirlwind music career so far after seeing her music take off on social media platform TikTok.
The 22-year-old British pop star has enjoyed international chart success with songs such as ‘House On Fire’, ‘Ghost of You’, and ‘Red Flags’.
Her debut album, , is a top 10 hit across Europe and reached number four in her native UK.
Her debut single, ‘Before I Go’, was a success on TikTok, where it received 85m plays, propelling her career to another level.
The Amelia Tour is Webb’s biggest tour to date and she was clearly thrilled to be in Cork.
Taking to the stage a little after 9pm, she launched into ‘Freezing’ before greeting the crowd with “How we doin’, Cork?
“Guys, I can’t believe we’re actually here. I can’t believe it, it feels like home here and you guys are the best crowd,” she added.
And she’s not lying about it feeling like home to her, after all, her nana was born an hour away from Cork.
Webb has struck a chord among her generation with her songs of heartache and heartbreak, break-ups and make-ups.
She told the in March that putting her experiences to music has been therapeutic — as well as proving a hit with her fans.
“I love to be vulnerable. I feel like it’s the way people really connect with my music. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to write that all down and get that out there — for my sake as well. It’s very therapeutic. It helps me process things.”
During her gig, she leaned into that emotional connection and the crowd ate up everything she was giving them, phones held aloft to capture each and every moment.
The Live at the Marquee season continues Saturday night with Christy Moore’s sold-out gig at the venue, where he will be on stage at 8pm.
