Live Review: Nieve Ella - New Century Hall, Manchester 08/03/2025
Nieve Ella stuns a sold-out New Century Hall with a performance that solidifies her status as one of the best rising artists around.
The Midlands-born artist and her fantastic band have gone from strength to strength over the past few years. Nieve Ella’s most recent EP- ‘Watch It Ache And Bleed’ has been a total triumph, with her already growing popularity sky-rocketing. Her relentless touring and consistent recording of sublime material has led her and her group to put on a huge headline tour. Nieve Ella and co took to Manchester’s New Century Hall, for a gig that was their biggest yet.
The Manchester crowd eagerly flooded into the state-of-the-art venue and took their places for what was to be an unforgettable night of brilliant music.
Kicking off the evening’s entertainment was another rising star: Fred Roberts. His set was truly brilliant. His raw energy and acoustic-guitar driven tunes made for a brilliant set. He got the crowd on side with a great rendition of Sabrina Carpenter’s hit song ‘Taste’. It was clear from this point that Manchester was in fine voice.
Roberts’ own songs were brilliant, too. One which really wowed the audience was ‘Runaway’. There were many in attendance who bounced to that song as if Roberts were headlining the evening. His set was brilliant, Manchester will hope to catch him again soon.
It was then time for Nieve Ella.
As soon as the band took to the stage the audience erupted, showing just how popular Nieve Ella and her band are right now.
Kicking off with EP opener ‘Anything’, Nieve Ella immediately had the crowd in the palm of her hand. Everybody in attendance belted out the words, which is quite remarkable since the EP is so new.
The song was electric. Thunderous drums and commanding bass lifted the twanging guitar riffs. It was all capped off with the instantly recognisable, stunning voice of Nieve Ella. The crowd went wild for every second of the opener, with the entire room bouncing, immersed in the music.
Straight after this, the audience were treated to the huge track ‘The Things We Say’. This one seems to have become a real fan favourite since its arrival into the discography of Nieve Ella. The infectious chorus took over New Century Hall, with the capacity crowd belting out the words: “Now I can’t take it back, I keep praying. Jesus Christ, what a mess we keep making.”
There wasn’t a single moment during the set that anybody lost interest, it was all eyes on Nieve Ella and co right from the off. Fans were pleased to hear a healthy dose of music from the recent EP ‘Watch It Ache And Bleed’, as well as a solid amount of older material.
The new tracks translated perfectly from recording to the live setting. One which was particularly strong when performed live was ‘Sweet Nothings’. The band’s chemistry made for a really tight, well-oiled sound. The song was brilliant. Of course, as with every Nieve Ella song, the vocals were sublime. In ‘Sweet Nothings’ Nieve Ella and her group built their sound up to an explosive climax with the infectious choruses.
There was a tour debut for ‘Big House’, a song that has become something of a Nieve Ella classic. The performance of this one was more than gratefully received: the Manchester crowd went wild for it.
All too soon, it was time for the evening to end. After gripping performances of ‘Ganni Top’ and ‘Meet You In The Middle’, the group left the stage.
After the crowd roared for more, Nieve Ella and co returned, to an even louder reception than they had initially received.
They performed ‘Girlfriend’, ‘His Sofa’ and ‘Sugarcoated’. The final of those was just breath taking. The band’s synergy was amazing, they captivated the crowd for one final time. The room bounced in unison, and it was amazing to see.
Nieve Ella’s performance at New Century Hall was proof that she is on her way to the very top. Manchester will look forward to hosting her and her incredible band again.
Words by Matthew Caslin
