WITH both acts on the bill under 25, and playing to a sell-out crowd of all ages, it shows that in an increasingly niche music market, there is still the potential for mass appeal.

Birdy carries the weight of the tour on her slender shoulders, and while her talent is undeniable, the orange cloak and the five-piece band felt like armour. She had little need of either. Or audience banter.

The backing musicians competently created a venue-filling sound but robbed the material of space to breathe. Much of the self-penned ballads and mid-tempo songs were consequently stodgy and over-processed. With Birdy mostly penned in behind her piano, the set was also striking for its lack of movement, which was mirrored by the crowd.

Live, Birdy’s voice is fuller and more striking than on record, and those fleeting moments when the barrage around her lifted were the most touching.

With the release of her third record Beautiful Lies this year, she continues to evolve. The touchstone of Kate Bush is unmistakable, and Silhouette cleverly segued into Bush's Running Up That Hill. She’s not flying that high yet, but there were wonderful flashes.

Opener Dan Owen also doesn’t yet have all the songs to do justice to his magnificent voice. When I Die recalled Mike Scott’s Waterboys and gave an early glimpse of Owen’s crowd-pleasing potential. His Moonlight was powerful stuff indeed and his rousing Little Red Rooster was all flailing limbs and Joe Cocker. His duet with Birdy on Let It All Go was a highlight.

Given that the audience reacted best to her cover version of Skinny Love and the upbeat Coming Back To Life (somehow more airy than the rest and the better for it), you have an artist with the ability to take her mainstream followers to more interesting places.