DJ Fresh Spring Tour ft. Rita Ora (Review)

Review written by Victoria Gaziano (@victoriagaziano).

On May 11th, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend one of DJ Fresh’s current UK tour gigs. On the drive over to Birmingham, I was excited about what the night ahead would include and I was definitely not left feeling disappointed. As we made our way into Birmingham’s O2 Arena, the crowd were already hyped and ready to go. The rush of heat from the swarms of bodies hit us as we made our way in and positioned ourselves ready to watch Rita Ora, one of the support acts who I was intrigued and especially looked forward to seeing.

Rita, dressed in white trainers, cut off, washed out denim shorts, a sleeveless, checked motifed shirt and bandana looked hot and exasperated energy with her signature red lipstick to match. Singing a collection of songs, her stunning voice captured the audience perfectly and energised an already very energetic crowd in preparation for DJ Fresh.

Photos taken by Emma Sumpter (@emmasumpter)

Rita’s cover of the classic ‘Killing Me Softly’ really portrayed what a fantastic and diverse singer she is. Known for upbeat tempo’s such as ‘Hot Right Now, Craig David’s ‘Where’s Your Love’ and the current Number 1 ‘RIP’ this song showed off the diversity of her voice and was a favourable song choice to demonstrate this. Finishing with ‘RIP’ the crowd went wild. Creating a mosh pit, and provoking every individual body in the room to move, this song was a fantastic end to Rita’s energised and fun filled set.

After a quick break for a beverage or two, DJ Fresh, his band and MC and vocalist entered the stage. Absolutely filling the room with energy and movement the minute they walked out from behind the curtain, I knew this set was going to be especially memorable. Opening with the classic ‘Gold Dust’, from the second the bassy electronic tones hit the room the crowd went wild. Vocalist Fleur, who has performed on X Factor to 9 million TV viewers in 2005 and has previously performed with DJ Fresh on Radio 1’s live lounge, demonstrated her voice that oozed with electricity and filled the room with power and energy. The MC, Messy MC, who has toured extensively with Pendulum, Nero and others added an extra bounce and speciality to the already buzzing performance.

Photos taken by Emma Sumpter (@emmasumpter)

Fresh carried on to roll out hit after hit with his current single ‘The Power’ captivating and creating even more admiration and energy from the crowd. He also went on to play Coldplay’s ‘Paradise’ which particularly demonstrated the variety and capability of Fleur and Messy MC’s vocal skills, and a new track off his upcoming album that is a collaboration with Rizzle Kicks which sounded like an instant Top 10 hit.

To the crowd’s delight, Rita Ora then suddenly appeared from backstage and joined the stage once more for the fantastic collaboration with Fresh to perform ‘Hot Right Now’ which was packed full of energy and sent the crowd raving even harder than ever. The set ended with ‘Louder’ which absolutely lifted the roof off the 02 Academy as the whole room joined as one to sing along to the classic hit. If you are looking for a night that is bursting with energy and strong drum and bass, garage and electric vibes then purchase a ticket to see DJ Fresh, you will not be left disappointed.