The grounds of Glasgow’s OVO Hydro was scattered in polka dots and slick back buns, as fans congregated outside, bathed in a rare, pink Glasgow sunset. It was the opening night of Olivia Dean’s sold-out arena tour, The Art of Loving Live, kicking off in the city where, just two years before, Dean played to a crowd of 300 in a sold-out King Tuts, since then, Dean has found herself at the centre of the cultural zeitgeist as one of the UK’s biggest stars.
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“It’s the art of loving” Dean begins to vocalise, as her name, projected in cursive on what looked like a vintage cinema curtain, fades into her silhouette. “Do we have any ladies in the house?” Dean asks, and is met with resounding cheers, echoing through the audience. In her dazzling, bubblegum gown, she goes straight into ‘Nice To Each Other’.
At the centre of the stage, Dean was elevated on a small, cream coloured podium, which she graced with ease, surrounded by her equally breezy band. Her rich vocals, spun in sugar, rang through everyone’s ears, with the crowd hanging onto every shake of her maraca.
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For young women, Dean speaks to the female experience. Throughout the set, she sprinkles advice that you would usually only get sitting on your flatmate’s bedroom floor. Those sisterly words are weaved in her lyrics. In ‘Let Alone the One You Love’ Dean sings, “If you loved me you wouldn’t keep me small,” which was met with a chorus of girls singing, some tearfully, the words for her.
Back on stage, there was an infectious, warm sense of sisterhood between Dean and the backing singers, as they were projected onto the curtain alongside her, as she effortlessly sashays around the stage.
Toeing the line between joy and heartfelt, Dean goes into a track from her 2023 album, ‘Messy’. “This one is for my Granny,” Dean says, and moments of silence in the crowd ensued as she sang the start of ‘Carmen’. Her words, “You transplanted a family tree/And part of it grew into me/You’re stronger than I’ll ever be,” filled the gold lit stage.
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As the curtain closed, Dean reappeared in the middle of the crowd on a flower-shaped stage, with a dress that fell like white petals. Waving phone torches swayed throughout ‘A Couple Minutes’, two girls standing beside us were arm in arm, filming the soulful, releasing track.
As Dean reappeared on the main stage, even under three mirrorballs and a deep purple curtain she shone through, springing into ‘Baby Steps’. Despite playing in front of 14000 people, her chatty, relatable repertoire kept coming through, “this is about the girls toilet” Dean says, about ‘Ladies Room’.
The night ended on Dean’s vibrant pop anthem, ‘Man I Need’. Her infectious euphoria caught the entire audience, as the concert ended in pink confetti cannons, showering the arena. Dean’s music is a celebration of life, and Glasgow threw their flowers to her on the tour’s opening night.
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Words: Margot Macleod
Photo Credit: Lola Mansell / @lolamansell
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