Live review: Alabama Shakes and Dove Ellis dazzle in seismic Millennium Square performance in Leeds

There’s nothing like following up an exhilarating late England turnaround in the World Cup with some soul churning live music.

At least that’s what I found after watching the brilliant Alabama Shakes headline the Millennium Square in Leeds after Harry Kane rescued his team against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But first a word or so for the sensational support act; Irish upstart Dove Ellis, whose delicate power evaporated any boozy haziness for those coming in.

With a vocal range and control reminiscent of Jeff Buckley (yes, really) but with a more grounded approach, there’s no telling how far Ellis can take his sound, which is currently built on a traditional Irish jaunt along with emotive choruses. A real talent.

Someone who knows a thing or two about having an otherworldly singing capacity is Bethany Howard, who received a huge ovation as she entered the stage sporting a bedazzling blue dress.

The band were playing live together in the UK for the first time in 10 years and their blues-soul-rock concoction was clearly missed, as evidenced by the trance-like swaying and dancing from the crowd in attendance.

I was blown away by the band and in particular her Aretha Franklin (yes, really) tier voice when seeing them at Glastonbury 2015 and fortunately they have lost little of that sheer force.

Made up of Howard and high school friends Heath Fogg (guitar) and Zac Cockrell (bass), the group play tonight as a five-piece band with a trio of backing singers, who add extra umph to their already-mammoth sound.

The undulating Rise to the Sun starts things off and they are a force to be reckoned with throughout, while Howard is a commanding and preacher-like feature, offering words of comfort and community in these troubled times.

The songs too are full of hope, with the sweet unload of ‘I Ain’t The Same’ and technical absorption of ‘This Feeling’ - with the line “it feels so nice to know I’m gonna be all right” - hitting particularly well.

Crowd favourites include the emotive cry of ‘Hold On’ and chunked chord delight of ‘Don’t Wanna Fight’, while new song ‘Time’, with its stunting jolts and transformative outro (which features a spine tingling vocal performance from one of the backing singers), is an instant hit , for which my notes simply read ‘wow’.

New single ‘American Dream’ is an unerring take on the state of the group’s home country, but the overall takeaway is one of joy, with Howard thanking the audience sincerely for allowing her to “feel this togetherness”. The gratitude is mutual.