LIVE REVIEW: MAX MCNOWN - LILY FITTS - O2 ACADEMY - LONDON

One of the shining stars of this year's C2C was undoubtedly Max McNown, and finishing the year with 2 sold out London dates at the O2 Academy, will almost certainly see him leap to the Main Stage in 2027. Before Max though, was a lady who #TEAMw21 hope may yet well grace the stages at C2C 2026 - Lily Fitts from Boston Massachusetts. Taking to the stage in her black boots, dressed all in black and with only guitar for company, this was probably not the ideal way to enjoy Lily's songs, however she more than won over a crowd who were primed for Max.

Her opening "Hi Everybody" would then lead into "Brown Eyed Baby" with its killer line

"Tell yourself that life's a bitch and so am I".

With her Dad watching it was time to play his favourite "Troubled Water" with the acoustic sound having to stand in for the urgent electric strum of the recorded version. Another of her singles "What They Say" came with the sort of lyrics that immediately marked her out as one to watch.

"If it turns out that my life is all an existential crisis

Can I blame the world or just my DNA?

Saw the doctor, got prescriptions

Talked to God, he didn't listen"

In the introduction to the next song she would acknowledge "I don't write the happiest songs!" but that "Cry In California" was one of the more cheerful ones as the title is prefaced by "I never" - It would see Lily ad lib a final last line replacing London for California. A Fleetwood Mac cover would follow in the shape of Landslide", which was better and slightly faster than many we've heard recently. There was a hint of what is to come next year with a new song "Notice" which only whets the appetite for what is to come. For "Buying Time" Lily was able to keep the audience transfixed with her line in deeply personal songs. Closing with "Lose You Now" there was lots to enjoy about Lily Fitts and seeing her in a smaller venue to really absorb what was going at the earliest opportunity would be most welcome.

There would be quite an unusual stage layout for Max McNown, the drummer and bass player were located on risers in the back left and right corners, while the two guitarists were located at the front of stage in the left and right corners leaving an absolute chasm in between that would be for Max, whose name was emblazoned on a massive backdrop. His entrance was heralded by some country bangers with "Country Roads"and "Sweet Caroline" playing out loud over the PA, along with gradually more and more lights. It was halfway through Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name" that the extended intro came to an end and the band appeared with the crowd fully whipped up.

His eventual appearance came after a pounding drum, and then a spoken word intro, only then did Max duly bounce on stage and launched into "Forever Ain't Long Enough". We're not sure if he was feeling the nip in the London air however, he was noticeably sporting a smart bit of knitwear as he duly worked much of the open space around him.

Max was a man of few words in this opening section of songs, he'd move on to "Hotel Bible", clinging to the mic stand for the opening verse. It comes with the snazzy lines "Strike a match, Light a candle, Curse the darkness" and would see Max both clutch his heart, and for a few moments sit by the edge of the stage.

After a short intro announcing this to be the final date of the tour, the urgent opening guitar chords prepped the crowd for "Turned Into Missing You" who would duly sing along to every word. At one stage the band would drop to just an acoustic guitar and Max, to highlight both Max and the crowds participation. At this stage with the lights on him he must have warmed up enough as it was time to take off his jumper!

The sound moved to a more sweet, soulful sound and Max would don an acoustic guitar for "This Side Of Heaven". Moving on to "Night Diving", Max would take off the guitar and once more work the stage, dropping to his knees to emphasise a line or two. During the song he'd leave the stage for some time, giving his guitarists some time in the spotlight.

The bass and drums would then kick off "The Way I Wanna" with the lyrics for the verse one long stream of thoughts before dipping in the more relaxed soul of the chorus. Even as Max introduced "Both Sides Of The Blade" most of his conversation was more functional than building a rapport. On completion he did start to open up a little, noting the number of people and relating how music had saved him and the joy he got from hearing that it had helped others. He told of a friend who had committed suicide and the song that followed "Take This Plane" would see a more stripped back sound to match the sentiment. It led well into "St Helen's Alpenglow" which gradually wound the tempo back up again. The mood continued to be lift with "Marley" with its somewhat dubious "Three Little Birds" section even including the organ from the original.

A little bit of padding came with some joshing with the drummer, before the electric guitar riff took us into a rousing "Dead Set"

It was at this point that the evenings first special guest appeared. Max would give a stirring introduction before bringing out his cousin Isla. He would ease her in by saying "It looks a lot bigger than Paris" to which she nervously replied " A lot bigger!"

Max would then take the first verse of "Worry 'Bout My Wandering" to which Isla would gradually add the backing vocals. The biggest surprise of the very assured performance would come when Isla was revealed as only being fifteen years old.

"She's going to go far - you wait" Max would purr with pride.

By now Max seemed a lot more at ease and was a lot more chatty, the introduction to "Same Questions" got a lot of reaction from the crowd for whom the lyrics of having to restart after a break up clearly chimed.

The second special guest of the evening would mean the welcome reappearance of Lily Fitts for a run through of Noah Kahan's "Stick Season". Max would take the first verse and chorus along with the audience before Lily would reappear. Freed of guitar responsibilities she was free to roam and looked to really be having fun as they ran through things at a fast pace.

The percussion set the atmosphere for "Love Me Back" before the main set would close out with "Hindsights and Photographs" which came with a loving intro about his Grandfather and later included his voice. It would once more see Max drop to his knees.

For the encore, it was initially just Max and his guitarist for "A Lot More Free", before the band joined to make things anthemic. It would also include harmonica and whistling. It would seemingly see the whole O2 Academy joining in. Closing with "Better Me For You (Brown Eyes) " - Max would flex his arm muscles which caused one girl to squeal out loud with delight, while the rest all sang along.

If it was a taster for a future C2C Main Stage appearance then he more or less passed with flying colours.