He might have missed out on the Mercury Prize but boy is Ben Howard good.
Every note he sung was packed with power, clarity and richness and every beautifully crafted melody rang true across the Dome. It was hard not to be swept away by the effect. This was a tremendously accomplished musical performance.
Time and again Howard built from intricate guitar sections to raucous crescendos, all aided by an impressive band involving a cellist who doubled-up as a second drummer and a drummer who doubled-up as an extra bassist.
He played most of the songs from his debut album Every Kingdom, which earned him his place on the shortlist for Thursday’s Mercury Prize honours. The two singles, The Wolves and Old Pine, stood out both for the strength of the guitar and the crowd singing the choruses.
It was a mark of how far Howard has come that he was supported here by the excellent Willy Mason. As he told us, when he last played in Brighton, at Komedia, Mason had been the headliner and Howard the undercard (finally getting a gig after years of hawking CDs at open-mic nights).
He was easily worth his top billing this time.