Sugababes, Freya Ridings – Lincoln Castle – Friday 20th June 2025

freya ridings

It’s hard to not enjoy gig at a castle. I’ve been to quite a few in recent times. But this is the first time I’ve ever gone to a concert to primarily watch the support act. Freya Ridings is a wonderful singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is as comfortable with a guitar as with a keyboard. And her vocals are powerful yet delicate.

Freya walks out on stage dressed in a long silver shimmering dress, her red hair up in a long pony tail. She’s flanked by two backing singers dressed fully in black. She takes her seat centre stage at the piano, but angled awkwardly to the right. Only later when she stands up and faces the crowd does she says: “I can see you all now.”

THE HIT

She will be known to some concert goers tonight from her hit song Lost Without You having been used on a 2018 episode of Love Island. Freya’s songs speak of love, loss, heartbreak – and occasionally hurricanes and castles.

Appropriate then that set opens with the track Castles before second track Weekends. Two high tempo tracks that would catch the attention of the crowd perhaps if they were not absolutely drowned in the level of bass that you can feel in your teeth – all without a bass guitar in sight. The overly enthusiastic low notes are presumably to appeal to DJ Spooney and Sugababes fans, but it doesn’t work.

“The first CD I ever bought was Angels With Dirty Faces. So little Freya is happy to be up on stage,” she says.

Freya sings from somewhere deep within her soul. She’s tapped into emotions and feelings that others would shy away from, she’s used her pain and the emotional turmoil of relationships and fed them into her lyrics. Her vocal delivery is a little unusual, not every word is clear, it might be something to do with the emotion she puts into her singing.

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

“I’m here to chill you down before The Sugababes. I’m the calm before the storm,” says Freya. But perhaps she’s misunderstood the purpose of the support act which is, unarguably, to warm the crowd up. She compounds this misstep by deciding to play five new songs. If you want a fairly small crowd onside, engaged in your music, you don’t debut five new tracks back to back in the middle of a set of just eleven songs.

“This is one for anyone who is feeling down or having a hard time. Just know. You’re undefeated,” says Freya before playing Undefeated. She continues with “This is a song about younger years, being heartbroken and alone it’s called Dancing In My Kitchen.”

It’s odd not to see her playing guitar last night, and that would have suited some tracks like Wither On The Vine better than piano. Freya’s completes her set with her biggest hit Lost Without You and the crowd finally pay attention, mobile phones come out and the tune will grace social media feeds across the country in the morning.

Sugababes

The Sugababes are a very different proposition to Freya, the energy is much higher, and there is lots of dancing, both onstage and in the crowd. That said they are noticeably less energetic than they once were back in the late nineties and early noughties. They take a seat at several points throughout the show, well we all need to take the weight off our feet occasionally I suppose. They are probably a little less naughty too.

I’ve seen them once before – at Sheffield’s Tramlines festival, but that was a weekend of torrential rain and I spent most of the day including the Sugababes set attempting to shelter from the incessant rain under a tree. So it’s nice to see them properly this time even if it is not the sort of music I would normally listen to.

GIRL POWER

They were part of an 90s girl group movement that saw All Saints and Spice Girls started things off in 1993/1994 before passing the torch to Atomic Kitten and Sugababes in 1998. To be fair it is Sugababes who underwent a complete line up change before reverting back to the original members that have maintained the longest career, with the likes of Push The Button, Too Lost In You and Round Round having been played so frequently on the radio that most people would be familiar with them even, perhaps without realising it. They all feature towards the end of a hits-filled set much to the delight of the assembled crowd.

Sadly, their set, is also plagued by booming bass that is so loud at times that a few children are spotted running to their mothers looking visibly distressed. A case for ear defenders or earplugs. Needless to say, the Sugababes have packed their set with their biggest numbers and the crowd are going home happy.

Sugababes online: Website / Instagram / Youtube / X-Twitter

Freya Ridings online: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Youtube / X-Twitter

Keep up with At The Barrier: Facebook / X (formerly Twitter) / Instagram / Spotify / YouTube