As Manchester Arena gradually filled with excited music fans, eager to experience a great night of great music, the lights dimmed and Sigrid, still riding a wave of success thanks to her singles “Sucker Punch”, which she opened her set with, and latest track “Don’t Feel Like Crying”, certainly did a good job of prepping the ever-growing crowd before her for the main event. Her energy was palpable and rubbed off on the crowd, especially those down the front who jumped and sang along to each and every one of her tracks. By the time she closed out her time on stage, ending her set with “Strangers”, there was no denying she’d impressed and earned herself a few thousand more fans in the process.

To an almost entirely sold-out crowd and with cheers and applause echoing from all corners of the venue, George Ezra walked on stage with the confidence of the man he is – one of the UK’s hottest and brightest talents and with a cry of “Come on, Manchester!” he launched straight into his opening number “Don’t Matter Now” and from there, the energy rarely let up.

With a backdrop and design layout around him that resembled more a house than stage, the thousands in attendance, as well as George himself, were instantly made to feel right at home, and the feel of the night remained comfortable, optimistic and upbeat as he powered his way through material from both Wanted on Voyage and Staying At Tamara’s, ensuring he pleased both older fans and newer ones with equal aplomb. “Pretty Shining People” proved to be a particular hit with the near capacity crowd, as the masses joined in with the chorus and assisted, at George’s insistence, with the bridge: “Don’t we all need love? The answer is easy.”

After a good fifteen, twenty minutes of high energy tunes – many of which the crowd sang along with, Ezra slowed things down a little with the arrival of “Did You Hear The Rain?”, one of the most reflective and thought provoking tunes he’s written, but the energy with which he performed the track remained just as strong, and allowed the song, and its lyrics, to be felt more strongly, and more personally, by all those present, than they might were they listening to them on record.

The sing along highlights of the night were, perhaps unsurprisingly, the inclusion of Ezra’s hit singles “Paradise”, performed mid-set, “Budapest” and closer “Shotgun”, all three of which saw the venue echoing with the sound of thousands of voices singing in unison as those both on the floor and in the seats sang and jump-danced along, while George himself all but let the crowd sing for him at several points throughout the performance, a grin etched semi-permanently on his face. As he played the final note to “Shotgun”, and the masses before him responded once again with rapturous cheers and applause, he looked out over the crowd one last time, and smiled the smile of a man who knew he’d done a good, no, great – job.