Music

After Amy, Lily, Kate and Adele, 22-year-old Florence Welch is the latest to emerge from London’s chanteuse uprising. However, having grown up listening to the likes of Kate Bush and Bjork, the bohemian art school drop-out doesn’t follow LDN, she just goes with the Flo.

The slightly eccentric art-folk powerhouse and her backing band, The Machine have just bagged themselves the coveted opening slot on NME’s Awards Tour – the perfect platform to deliver her flamboyant, theatrical performance.

The wide-eyed wild child bounds on stage in a sequined leotard, full of energy, her flaming locks flaying and looking every inch like a banshee that’s leapt from a dressing-up box as she prances around in her own personal Wonderland - a stage that’s adorned with garlands of brightly coloured flowers, her trademark birdcages and a stand-up military drum at her side.

Florence’s soul-inspired indie creations are propelled by a vast voice that belies her fragile frame on live favourites like Girl With One Eye and Bird Song. But, it’s the stunning end-of-the-night anthem Dog Days Are Over that closes the show in style with thumping drums and yodeling yelps.