It was a vibrant party atmosphere for the final night of the Live at Ludlow Castle concert series as flamboyant headliners Scissor Sisters closed proceedings in style. Since they initially exploded onto the music scene back in 2004, the New York band found a warm welcome here in the UK, with their quirky, glammed-up pop music resonating strongly with audiences on this side of the Atlantic. Their debut album was the UK’s best selling record of the year, going on to sell more than 2.5 million copies.

It came as no surprise then, that the Ludlow crowd sang and danced along to their whirlwind set, which kicked off with 2006’s chart topping anthem ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’, a song which set the mood for the next hour and a half. Scissor Sisters reformed in 2024 with original members Jake Shears on vocals, Del Marquis on guitar, and Babydaddy, the multi-instrumentalist, joined by new vocalists Bridget Barkan and Amber Martin. The vocal interplay between Shears, Barkan and Martin worked wonderfully well, the trio perfectly complementing each other as the continued with ‘Laura’, ‘She’s My Man’ and ‘Take Your Mama’, the latter of which flowed seamlessly into the iconic chorus of George Michael’s ‘Freedom! 90’.

One of the few things that Roger Waters and David Gilmour seem to have agreed upon over the past half a century is that they both approved of SS raunchy dance version of ‘Comfortably Numb’, and the legendary Floyd anthem was one of the shows soaraway highlights. The whole Ludlow Castle live concert experience has proven to be a huge success, with a broad range of headliners that had wide appeal. Tonight’s show was another example of how an outdoor show should be, with first class organisation and the sound quality perfect throughout. The nostalgia drenched show came to a close as Jake Shears led the band through the encore, kicking off with the outrageously brilliant ‘Filthy / Gorgeous’ and the pumped-up theatrics of ‘Music is the Victim’. Still as over the top as they were when they first came out of nowhere twenty-odd years ago, the Sister Sisters are a guaranteed exhilarating night out.

Set List:-

I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’
Laura
She’s My Man
Tits on the Radio
I Can’t Decide
Take Your Mama
Fire With Fire
Running Out
Any Which Way
Comfortably Numb
Invisible Light
Only the Horses

Filthy/Gorgeous
Music Is the Victim