Blondie at Halifax Piece Hall review: Rock 'n' roll greats set the tone as venue's summer concert series kicks off

The much-anticipated summer season at Halifax Piece Hall has kicked off in fine fashion courtesy of rock ‘n’ roll royalty.

“This is Blondie calling,” Debbie Harry proclaimed at the end of set opener One Way or Another before her band rang into Hanging on The Telephone. Blondie’s Friday evening performance was the first of 34 concerts being hosted at Halifax Piece Hall this summer.

There’s no denying, the tone has been well-and-truly set for what is to come. Blondie, who were supported on the night by Starsailor, zipped through a sublime greatest hits set which certainly appeared to satisfy the adoring masses - many of whom looked rather glam covered in glitter.

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Rock icon Harry, a mere 78, seemed to be having a blast as her band played the stunning Halifax venue for the first time. She said: “I can’t believe we’ve never played here. It’s quite beautiful. It is receiving a little blessing from the rain.”

Don’t worry, the intermittent Friday night drizzle certainly didn’t dampen any spirits. Big numbers Atomic and Rapture were very well-received. The latter gave the trailblazing female lead an opportunity to perform her famous rap - to much acclaim down the front.

Anthem Heart of Glass, featuring little nods to Donna Summer’s I Feel Love and Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen, closed the main set. Of course, such was the clamour, Harry returned for a two-song encore.

Concluding with Dreaming, Harry urged everyone in attendance to never give up on their dreams and desires before leaving to fireworks lighting up the sky. Undoubtedly, many fans will return to see Blondie headline their second Halifax Piece Hall night on Sunday evening.

After that, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Sheryl Crow and Annie Mac are some of the big names next up at Halifax Piece Hall in the coming days.

Setlist

• One Way or Another

• Hanging on the Telephone

• Sunday Girl

• Call Me

• Living in the Real World

• Will Anything Happen?

• Atomic

• X Offender

• In the Flesh

• Rapture

• The Tide Is High

• Long Time

• Maria

• Heart of Glass

Encoure

• Dog Star Girl

• Dreaming

Below you can see all the upcoming Halifax Piece Hall 2024 shows which have been announced:

• June 9 - Blondie and The K's

• June 13 - Sheryl Crow and Dea Matrona

• June 15 - Annie Mac - Before Midnight - Featuring Jake Shears and Gina Breeze

• June 16 - Nile Rodgers and Chic, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Deco

• June 19 - Crowded House and Liam Finn

• June 22 - Grace Jones and Stone Foundation

• June 23 - Bryan Adams with Cassyette and Vivas

• June 25 - Placebo with Friedberg

• June 26 - Air

• June 27 - Michael Kiwanuka with support from Joel Culpepper

• June 28 - Underworld with Ela Minus

• June 30 - Tom Odell

• July 7 - Rick Astley with support from The Lightning Seeds

• July 9 - Loyle Carner with support from Children of Zeus

• July 12 - Sir Tom Jones with Germein and Storry

• July 13 - Idles with support from Sprints and Angelica Garcia

• July 27 - Ministry of Sound with Ellie Sax and Friends - Ibiza Anthems

• July 31 - Bill Bailey

• August 1 - Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds with support from Andrew Cushin

• August 2 - Richard Ashcroft with support from Apollo Junction

• August 3 - The Stranglers and Buzzcocks

• August 8 - Jess Glynne with support from Issey Cross and The Mercians

• August 9 - Korn and Loathe

• August 10 - McFly and State of Error

• August 13 - Status Quo and The Alarm

• August 18 - McFly and NOAHFINNCE

• August 20 - PJ Harvey and Mica Levi

• August 21 - Pixies with support from The Pale White

• August 22 - The Streets with support from Billy Nomates

• August 23 - Biffy Clyro with support from Witch Fever

• August 24 - Fatboy Slim

• August 25 - Jungle

• August 26 - Cian Ducrot

you can buy tickets for Halifax Piece Hall shows from Ticketmaster.

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