Natalie Prass: warming vibes | Electric Picnic

Despite her inability to jump the barrier Natalie Prass takes us back to balmier times

Natalie Prass on stage. Photograph: Gaelle Beri/Getty Images
Natalie Prass on stage. Photograph: Gaelle Beri/Getty Images

Evoking the mellowy 60s, Natalie Prass takes us back to balmier times. With three musicians from Virginia instead of a full complement, what she loses in bandwidth she makes up in voice: it’s a starling’s call that brings a soft-focus summer to those in its reach (get on it, Elsa). My Baby Don’t Understand Me is the best song Carole King never wrote, and shows off Prass’s vocal agility in a way that can only ever be gleamed on record.

Relieved of guitar, as during her cover of Janet Jackson’s Any Time Any Place, the mandatory crowd interaction time (is it written into live contracts these days?) is scuppered/made memorable by her being unable to jump the barrier. But no matter - we all still felt her warming vibes.

In three words: Summer’s still here

Like this? Go see: Cathy Davey

Shilpa Ganatra

Shilpa Ganatra

Shilpa Ganatra is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in popular culture and travel