Review: Paloma Faith, Summer Music Saturday, York Racecourse, June 30

PALOMA Faith joined thousands of revelling racegoers at York Racecourse, playing tracks from her latest album, The Architect.

Born in London, Faith released her first single - Stone Cold Sober - back in 2009.  Four best-selling albums and many awards later, she continues to be both an immensely popular and vocal performer, speaking out on political issues, social justice and gender equality.

The spectacle of so many people out in the truly glorious summer sunshine was striking.  The weather could not have been more perfect for an outdoor concert.

Faith and her bandmates appeared on stage to massive cheers from the assembled crowd, launching immediately into lively and fast-paced performance. 

Despite the sweltering heat, the singer showed nothing but enthusiasm and affection for her legions of excitable fans. No song was given less than 100 per cent, from old favourites to new songs and her now famous cover of Mama Cass’s Make Your Own Kind of Music, all of which had the audience dancing and singing along.

Ever the outspoken influencer, Faith also took the opportunity to call for what she described as an “epidemic of kindness” to counteract the hate and mistrust at large in the world.  American  president Donald Trump also got a personal mention, with the song WW3 being dedicated to him.

Paloma Faith remains as energetic as ever, delivering an uplifting performance with all the style and flair we’ve come to expect from one of pop music’s most unusual stars.

Review by Robert McKelvey 

A SELL-OUT crowd of more than 42,000 people packed York Racecourse on a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon to see seven races followed by a concert by Paloma Faith.

The chart-topping singer and songwriter from Hackney performed in the course's Summer Music Saturday earlier this evening, following this afternoon's race meeting.

The 90-minute concert was one of her first chances to play tracks from her 500,000-selling album The Architect in the sunshine, as well as fans' older favourites.

The stands were all sold out days ago but entry tickets to the Clock Tower enclosure could only be purchased today, and these were sold out by mid-afternoon.

Course spokesman James Brennan said the weather helped ensure a bumper crowd which he thought might not be beaten this season.

He said Paloma proved popular with racegoers, most of whom stayed on to see the concert.

He said such a large crowd prompted its own challenge, such as queuing in some places until people could be directed to other eateries elsewhere on the course.

He added that four of the races were won by horses trained in North Yorkshire, including two by Tim Easterby of Great Habton near Malton.

Report by Mike Laycock