Nadine Shah – Live Review – St George’s Hall, Bradford
By Fay Barnes, May 2025
Nadine Shah took to the stage at the iconic St George’s Hall, Bradford, as part of the City of Culture 2025 celebrations. A series of arts and music events are taking place across the city to honour Bradford’s rich culture and diversity.
Following a run of arena dates last year supporting Depeche Mode, and more recently as a guest vocalist with The Pogues on their UK tour, Shah performed tonight in her own right with her band. Her voice could not be more suited to the ambience of the building.
Nadine Shah, 2025
“Abundance of positivity”
The dark and moody stage lighting worked perfectly with Nadine’s first offering, ‘Keeping Score’, from her critically acclaimed fifth album, Filthy Underneath, released in February 2024. It’s one of Shah’s most personal and profound lyrical works. The songs are a walk-through of her documented breakdown, mental health struggles, spiralling addiction, a stint in rehab and – more happily – her recovery. They offer a vivid account of what she has overcome.
‘Sad Lads Anonymous’ verges on spoken-word poetry and showcases her Tyneside dialect, drawing the listener in. There’s an abundance of positivity too. A BSL signer stood at the side of the stage, and Shah jests that ‘Topless Mother’ might be an interesting one to interpret. The song, about a counsellor she disliked, is a crowd-pleaser that has the audience hooked. She stalks the stage with jerky but purposeful dance moves.
‘Twenty Things’ appears emotionally draining as she recounts some of the people she met during her recovery. The lyrics, “They’re laying flowers by the bus stop, some poor old junkie’s luck’s up,” echo hauntingly around the auditorium.
On stage at Bradford St George’s Hall, May 2025
“Passion and pain”
Introducing the “serious part” of her set, she urges people not to go to the bar – rightly so, no one moves. Reaching back to her 2015 album Fast Food, she has the audience in the palm of her hand, hanging on every word of ‘Stealing Cars’. Shah then moves on to a BBC 6 Music favourite, ‘Greatest Dancer’, wowing with her stage presence and dominating the entire floor. The band are tight and with her all the way. The crowd is fully on board now – eyes closed, arms in the air. She clearly speaks to people.
If you follow Nadine, you’ll know her political passion. Wearing a Palestine badge on her blazer, she delivers an unbelievable and floor-shaking performance of ‘Out the Way’ from her 2017 album Holiday Destination. Chanting “Ceasefire,” the crowd responds. Her passion and pain are palpable, making it an emotional experience.
Nadine is one of a kind. Her vocal range and gift for storytelling through song are a force to behold. If you’ve never seen her perform, I urge you to – she’s a truly unique and deserving artist.
Concert images: Fay Barnes
