It’s been twenty one long years but Irish folk pop sensations The Corrs are finally back in the land down under. They are in Australia for one special concert at Hope Estate Hunter Valley.
Thousands of fans are in attendance at the picturesque location with the stage setup beneath a grassy hill, bordered by rows of vineyards. The crowd enjoyed a few wines as the event was kicked off by Australian acts Germein, Gaudion and Darlinghurst.
It was now time for the main support of the evening, hailing all the way from Scotland was soulful pop group Wet Wet Wet. The band played a laid back set with new singer Kevin Simm displaying his impressive vocal ability. Original member and bass player Graeme Clark explained the next song was a real hit in Australia before leading into “Sweet Surrender”. The audience helped sing along as the band played an upbeat cover of The Beatles “With a Little Help From My Friends”. You could feel the love all around the winery as phones were lit up and waved in the air like fireflies, as the sun set the band played the song they are most known for “Love Is All Around”. They closed out the set by thanking everyone and saying they hope to be back in Australia early 2024.
Now that the sun had gone down it was time for the stars of the evening The Corrs to take to the stage. Huge cheers came from the audience as a light shone through the dark stage to reveal drummer Caroline as she begun to play the intro to “give me a reason”, then one by one was joined on stage by her siblings. We were then treated to one of the bands biggest hits early in the set as “erin shore” led into “forgiven not forgotten”.
Not long after the band displayed their ability to make a cover song unique as they played “dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. There were some special moments throughout the set as they played “ellis island” in honour of their parents. Also we go to hear “love to love you” a song that the band admitted they haven’t played in a long time.
The main set closed out with “so young” which seemed appropriate considering how the band look like they may have found the fountain of youth. That wasn’t to be the last song though as they returned to the stage for a four song encore. With the biggest crowd singalong of the night going to “runaway”. As the final songs of the night were played drones appeared in the sky near the stage to spell out the band name and even create violin shapes.
Having The Corrs finally back in Australia especially amongst the backdrop of the beautiful Hope Estate Hunter Valley made for a truly memorable evening. With an incredible twenty song set list they sounded better than ever. As the band left the stage Andrea hinted at a return Australia tour next year. I would say The Corrs are forgiven for not coming back to Australia sooner but clearly not forgotten.
(photos by Christian Ross)
