Live Review: Eve Belle at Whelans

Chatting with Eve Belle before she stepped on stage has me even more excited to see what is to come from the Donegal born artist. With a recently released E.P, 'The Fine Line Between Brave and Stupid' she shares what's to come next.

"The EP has just come out there so the first single is been out from that, it's kind of all been leading up to this to be honest, we've got this big release out of the way, and the headline show. Ive a few big supports, we've got Ann-marie in Belfast at the end of the summer"

But Eve shows no hint of slowing down

"We're coming out with the new stuff I've been writing, this summer has been so so intense with gigging and releasing stuff that its going to be really nice to get back to writing and focusing on getting the new stuff ready for the next release."

And an intense week it has really been, just a few days previously, Eve paused her rehearsals for this headline show to stop by Knockanstockan

"It was was the first time I'd been there and it was very unlike any festival I've ever been to. The whole thing felt really nice and home grown. I guess the thing I loved about it more so than anything was how Irish the lineup was. We have such level of musicianship and talent in Ireland, so to see this festival that's focusing on homegrown talent, rather than exporting it and waiting for someone to make it in the U.K to then support them on an Irish stage. It's really really nice for people to have that support from a home level, it's really cool."

When the time came for Eve to step on stage, despite some technical difficulties, she won the crowd over even before the first chord was strum, a talent in its self! "This was pretty much written when I was really fucking sad, I'm less sad now. We call that growth." To a chorus of laughter, Eve, backed by her tight-knit band opened the night officially with 'One Foot Out the Door'.

Thankfully, Eve's charisma and comedic side stories between songs managed to keep her audience engaged while she warmed into her set. Her melodic vocals were often drowned out by overpowering drums and a backing track starting the night.

With 'Cut Throat' being dedicated to an ex, a running theme in her music, she gets the audience laughing again "this guy was a good friend of mine... but fuck sake".  The audience began to sing along to this, one of better known songs having released it on the E.P as well as a single featuring Isaiah Dreads. She finally appeared to get comfortable on stage, projecting powerful vocals along side a chorus of friends and fans, swaying along to the music with them.

As the night, we were treated to new music and old, including an Ariana Grande cover 'Break up with your Girlfriend'. Finishing the night with a vibe of excitement as the crowd danced, sang and cheered along to the catchy lyrics and powerful vocals.

Eve was not prepared for the demand for an encore, but once she thanked her band, and some lyric prompting from hardcore fans in the audience, now solo on stage she sang 'Too Young to feel this Old". A song written when she was just 15 years old, which wouldn't have been apparent by the audiences reaction, beautifully crafted lyrics wrapped the room. Every single person transfixed on the emotions expressed. You could have heard a pin drop.

And with that it was time to go home, with hopes of seeing Eve again very soon.