Jess Glynne
Even though the fine weather and sunshine can, and often does continue throughout September and if we are lucky, into October, the August Bank Holiday weekend always seems to gloatingly herald the end of summer 'proper'. One last chance to get stuck in a coast-bound traffic jam before the kids go back to school and the Christmas merchandise starts to arrive on the high street.
The Jockey Club rounded off this year's season of Newmarket Nights with a Saturday race meeting on the Adnams July Course followed by a live performance from singer songwriter Jess Glynne. For Jess, this was the final night of her extended Take Me Home tour, and the last date on a busy summer schedule of festival and racecourse appearances.
The last time I saw Jess Glynne perform live was at the Sundown Festival back in August 2014, almost a full year before the album I Cry When I Laugh was released. Five number one singles later, and that album is still in the Top 100, and is now celebrating 105 weeks in the UK album charts.
With no tracks from the forthcoming follow-up being showcased here tonight, the show is instead a run through of virtually every track from I Cry When I Laugh, together with a beefed up version of Rather Be, the Clean Bandit global smash on which Jess performed vocals. But the familiarity of the material in no way detracts from the impressiveness of the performance. The seven-piece band, which includes a cracking three-piece brass section, are excellent, as is the trio of backing singers. The deceptively small stage, shoe-horned into a gap between the two towering grandstands of the Premier Enclosure, becomes the focus for the music and Jess' distinctive, powerful and versatile voice.
The set soon develops into a pumping, thumping, funk-soul celebration of love and life, with slick choreography and colour-themed outfits that match the purple backdrop. I never managed to see Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine live, but this is the closest to what I imagine it could have been like if I had. With her parents somewhere in the audience, and two packed grandstands and thousands more standing on the enclosure lawns, this was surely the perfect way for Jess Glynne to bring the curtain down on the Take Me Home tour.
Full marks to the stewards and staff at Newmarket for the organisation of this whole race-day experience. For those arriving by car, the directions and parking arrangements were all well thought out and slickly executed. Sure, it is going to take a while to leave any large outdoor event but, with many choosing to defer their exit by taking an alfresco picnic supper in the car parks afterwards, it all remained very civilised. Security throughout was visible, but not oppressive, and stewards were quick to nip in the bud any over-boisterous behaviour in front of the stage before anyone got hurt or anxious – an evening mix of families with young children eager to reach the front, and grown men with up to six hours of racing, betting and drinking under their belts, is always one that needs to be handled tactfully yet firmly. And so it was.
The weather was glorious, the racing was first-class (even if I did fail to pick a single winner), and the whole day was rounded off by a memorable show from Jess Glynne. What more could one possibly ask from a Newmarket Night? Roll on next summer.
