Live Review: Lianne La Havas

The cool change had come in by the time young British musician Lianne La Havas walked onto the stage of the still sweltering Spiegeltent for her first ever gig in Australia. Poor Havas, having just arrived from a snowing UK a day previous, tried not to let the heat get to her as she delighted the capacity crowd.

For a lot of the show Havas was backed by a three-piece band, but the couple of songs she sang on her own, effortlessly fingerpicking her guitar, really showed off the potential she's sure to grow into. Single, Is Your Love Big Enough?, was an early song to lift the tempo, but there was a good balance of slow and melancholy along with the more toe-tapping numbers in Havas' repertoire.

Love was the topic of the day, with Havas' ex-boyfriend featuring in several of the less complimentary songs, a fact that Havas clearly enjoyed milking for laughs as she introduced each song. And she was very happy to announce that she recently ran into said lad, who was still doing nothing. Though she didn't say it, everyone knew the singer wanted to add, 'While I'm playing sold-out shows on the other side of the world.'

There was a wonderful Jill Scott cover, He Loves Me, the unconventional arrangement and stripped-back instrumentation that elevated Don't Wake Me Up, and Empty, a new song that Havas put down the guitar for and really let loose her magnificent voice.

It wasn't until the second half of the show that it felt like Havas really started to revel in pushing that voice. While some of that may have been the heat, it might also be down to her age. At just 23, touring her debut album, Havas has many years to expand on her talent. Let's hope Australia gets to see this charming singer often.