TUESDAY night represented a rare opportunity to see not one but two supremely talented - and internationally acclaimed - artists take to a Belfast stage, as Neil Young (alongside band Promise of the Real), and his support act, Laura Marling, performed at the SSE Arena.
It really must have been something special to coax the masses of attendees indoors on such a glorious summer's evening.
Marling kicked off the event with a characteristically captivating set; having last performed in Belfast at the Waterfront Hall, she again proved that her music - from bigger, brassier crowd-pleasers to her more intimate songs - is capable of filling even the biggest of rooms.
Highlights included a new arrangement of the rousing Devil's Spoke, a country-inflected cover of Waiting Around to Die and closing song Salinas.
Astonishing, soulful set from Laura Marling, supporting #neilyoung pic.twitter.com/Tkl8a7WWmi
— Tara McEvoy (@tara_mcevoy) June 7, 2016
Yet it was perhaps new track Wildfire which stole the show.
"She keeps a pen behind her ear because she's got something she really, really needs to say", sang Marling: "She puts it in a notepad, she's gonna write a book someday."
From one gifted writer to another, then, Neil Young's appearance was heralded by two plaid, denim and wellie-clad stagehands who circled around, scattering grain from hessian sacks on the floor; later, several figures in hazmat suits wielded leaf-blowers.
You mightn't immediately associate Neil Young with self-consciously "dramatic" shows, but on Tuesday night, the musician used the full range of tools at his disposal to emphasise the environmental bent of the gig (the stage was decorated with plants, Young wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan 'Earth'; appropriately, activists from the ongoing 'Stop the Drill' campaign handed out leaflets to concert-goers on arrival.)
#neilyoung is behind the piano, rocking a black hat and kicking off with 'After the Gold Rush' #harmonicasolo
— Tara McEvoy (@tara_mcevoy) June 7, 2016
The Canadian singer is best known for his acclaimed albums After the Gold Rush and Harvest, and he didn't shy away from playing some of his classic hits.
A somber but beautiful rendition of Mother Earth, from the album Ragged Glory, reflected his environmental concerns, but the loudest cheers of the evening were reserved for other songs: opener After the Gold Rush for example, was greeted with rapturous applause, as was the hit Heart of Gold and the delicate, compassionate The Needle and the Damage Done.
