ShareCian Ducrot performing his Victory Tour at Rock City Nottingham on Wednesday 15th November 2023.
Images and review by Kevin Cooper
It was a packed Rock City who welcomed back the Cork born singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist, Cian Ducrot on Wednesday night, as part of his aptly named Victory Tour.
After appearing at the Rescue Rooms in March this has been a major year for him as he supported Ed Sheeran in the spring, hit number one in the UK and Ireland with his debut album Victory in the summer and now he is on his own headline tour.
Once a busker, then a classically trained flautist, he has garnered over one million followers on Instagram, has made his mark on YouTube and has become a TikTok sensation. Coming on to a no frills stage he immediately captivated the crowd with the raw power behind his vocals and commanded the stage with his natural showmanship.
With a set list that contained all of the songs from the album, he began with the title track, Victory. The first big sing along came with third song, Heaven, dedicated to his brother which deals with their tough upbringing, and Aftertaste, his first released song went down a treat with its John Legend-esque feel. Part Of Me laments the loss of a late friend and was one of the set’s rawest and most beautiful moments with the crowd soaking in the heavy emotions.
The beautiful ballad All For You came in the middle of his set followed by a moody rendition of Everyone Who Falls In Love. With each cleverly crafted song there was some mesmerising banter which brought the audience into his personal life, his childhood, his girlfriends, and used his Irish humour to provide levity to some of his more sombre songs.
Switching between playing guitar and piano as well as commanding the crowd purely as a vocalist, he closed his set with the angelic I’ll Be Waiting which just served to show that this is an artist destined for greater things and larger venues.