Summer Series at Somerset House

The picturesque setting of Somerset House, with its fantastic classical Victorian architecture and excellent location on the river Thames, has been delighting Londoners with a series of open air concerts for ten years now.

Everything about these concerts, part of the Summer Series sponsored by American Express,  has been designed to attract a better class of music lover. As well as the posh surroundings, pristine toilets and refreshments stalls selling miniature bottles of wine, Kettle Chips and pints of Pimms certainly create an atmosphere of a more comfortable concert-going experience. A sweaty gig at Brixton academy this aint. As the ninth act in the 2010 series, Corinne Bailey Rae seemed to slot very neatly into this scene.

Since her self titled debut album, singer songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae’s brand of easy listening feel-good hits have been a staple of background music for coffee shops and cafés everywhere. However, more recently Miss Rae has begun to single herself out as something just a little bit special.

Her latest album, The Sea, written after the tragic death of her husband, is unsurprisingly more soulful and melancholy than her earlier work and all the better for it. Having received critical acclaim and a Mercury music prize nomination in the process, this latest concert only builds on her growing reputation as a genuinely talented and exciting artist.

After taking to the stage, Corinne announced to the audience that she would play her new album in its entirety, which she duly does, giving a performance filled with visible emotion which only helped to highlight her fantastic voice. Her crystal clear, yet very distinctive vocal style was a refreshing change when compared with so much of pop music today, with its reliance on electronic effects. Expertly assisted by a group of very talented backing musicians, Corinne and Co produced a huge sound that completely filled the intimate surroundings of Somerset House, and then some.

Having finished the emotional rollercoaster of her latest material, Corinne lightened the mood with some old favourites, including her biggest hit Girl Put Your Records On, to the delight of the crowd. This was a pleasant change from the power and emotion of performance so far and created a more relaxing and intimate atmosphere, that benefited from the surroundings.

The evening was brought to an end with a soul version of Que Sera Sera as an encore, which wouldn’t have seemed out of place being performed by the likes of Diana Ross, showing true depth of musical understanding by this continually surprising artist. If this concert teaches us one thing, then it’s not to judge prematurely. Somerset House is a great venue for a music concert and Corinne Bailey Rae is not just another singer-songwriter – both have something a bit special.

The Summer Series finished on July 18.