Shae Universe Stuns At Gorilla, Manchester As She Kicks Off Day One Of Her Debut Tour

There has been a lot of firsts for Shae Universe during these past few years, first COLOURS performance in 2023, debut album Love’s Letter came out last February and now, despite the disbelief I felt when I was in the crowd of her Manchester show, she revealed that it was her first show in Manchester, and also the first show of her first tour.

And like family, the Mancunian crowd embraced her with patience, attentiveness, warmth and most importantly love. The show starts off with Manchester’s very own [ K S R ] opening the night, sat down on a chair accompanied with his guitarist Lawrie as he soulfully sings six tracks, that can be found off of his 2021 EP Peace + Harmony, as well as some recently dropped singles.

You hear the instrumental of ‘No Stallin’ emerge from the speakers as Shae comes out wearing a bright red dress, and heads straight to the mic. Her vocals send a pleasant shudder down your spine as she hits falsetto after falsetto before bringing it down to a honeyed tone.

She remarks “this is monumental shit.”

Fully diving all the way in we are taken back to the very start of her journey with her 2018 single ‘Black Panther’, before swithcing to ‘Misunderstood’.

And then showing that she is still a fan of music, she performs a cover of Kayne West’s ‘Ultra Light Beam’ - a haunting rendition that leaves the crowd silence as they take in a generational voice. Before turning her attention to her favourite artist’s D’Angelo’s ‘Untitled’ as fans joined in singing along in a heartwarming moment.

Entering the R&B Drill section of the night, a sub-genre that Shae pioneered. Shae takes the time to explain the reasoning behind some of the tracks that propelled her to where she she is now. ‘ 1 1 1’ was inspired by an Airbnb she way styling in in New York, whilst ‘You Loose’ was written in response to a heartbreak. Fan favourites ‘Sit Back’, ‘Royalty’ and Wicked Ways’ were all performed before she ventured out to the new music.

‘Summertime’ is performed as a kiss to what has just passed, as people wave their arms basking in the singers warmth. Before she swiftly moves into ‘LOML’, a song she dedicates to the lovers and their partners, then continues with ‘Oh Wait’ a direct continuation of ‘LOML’ as both are about the same man but with oppositie feelings.

Fans lock in when the empathetic ‘War Zone’ is sung after listening to Shae make a plea for people to stop being harsh on themselves and to normalise finding their feet.

A moment later to the joy of her fans, she perches on the edge of the stage, swings her feet as ‘What’s Love?’, ‘No Capacity’ and ‘Passenger Princess’ crooned out.

The magic of Shae is that she makes everyone feel as if she’s talking to them. She’s a friend, empathetic and understanding as she relates to you through her music. Taking us on a journey that feels shared, evidence of her growth as a person and an artist, by the end you feel closer to her.

And that’s summed up by the end of the show, she coyly asks. “Who’s single?” before picking a man from the crowd to end with a sensuous debut to the joy of the crowd.

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