Live: Natasha Bedingfield in Dublin 2025
My summer concert this year was a completely unique one performed by British-New Zealand singer Natasha Bedingfield. If you had told me last summer that I would see Natasha live this July, I wouldn’t have believed you. But let’s start from the beginning.
I’m sure the name Natasha Bedingfield probably means something to you, or you might even remember her biggest hits – These Words, Unwritten and maybe Pocketful of Sunshine. The first two were released in 2004, the third followed 4 years later. And I was so intrigued by them that I triumphantly bought her CDs and even singles in a well-known Czech book store Levné Knihy. They still sit in a box with other musical treasures. In my closet. In Ireland. Of course, I loaded the aforementioned hits and more of her songs into my MP3 player and listened to them over and over again. Even so, I don’t know all of her songs and the last two albums passed me by, but the first two have a special place in my heart.
Last summer Natasha played (and I feel like it was the first time in Ireland) at a local festival where you can’t get in just because the tickets are sold out long before they announce the line-up (I really hate that). I was sorry, but paying 100+ euros for 30-45 minutes of your favorite singer because the rest of the performers don’t interest me is not worth it. Those who can wait… this February it was announced that Natasha would be coming to Dublin. Her own concert and not as part of the all-day line-up. I bought my ticket in advance, of course, because I couldn’t miss this.
Natasha played on Friday 18th July at Iveagh Gardens – one of the local parks where music events are held during the summer. In this case it’s called Live at Iveagh Gardens and there were countless musicians there for almost 3 weeks – no one else caught my eye except Natasha, so I only went that one night. Natasha was supported by a guy named Calum Bowie, who didn’t really impress me either. But it’s always tough when you’re in the mood for the lead singer and they throw in a random guy as support.
I arrived about thirty minutes after the venue opened and only the first row was occupied, so after a very long time I got to the second row without any problems. I stood behind a lady and her son and had a great view of the entire concert. As I waited for Natasha’s turn, I realized that I had known her for 20 years and had been unconsciously waiting for that long to see her live. It’s just incredible when it all comes together like that. And especially with someone whose music is quite familiar to you (and at least I can take pictures now, so I was able to create nice memories of this evening).
Natasha started at 9pm, because it was open air in the summer, so there was plenty of light, you could see clearly. The setlist consisted of old songs, one newer one that she released in Corona and a few covers. Among them was of course Zombie by The Cranberries (I swear that everyone who plays covers in Ireland plays either Zombie or something by U2… I challenge all musicians to play Enya, for example!). But then again, I have to say that anyone who plays Zombie in today’s political climate at least has a conscience and Natasha confirmed this herself when she almost cried after this song and spoke briefly about the current state of the world. And that’s about all I’ll say about it now, it’s better suited for another article. And I would also add that for a non-native English speaker, whose childhood soundtrack consisted of various songs including Zombie, hearing this song at almost every concert in adulthood and in Ireland – a bit of a full circle. I mean, it would probably be completely full if I heard it by The Cranberries but rip Dolores. She also did a cover of Coldplay and promised that there was no jumbotron in the park haha
I have to admit that I was a little worried that Natasha would be a basic artist – she would sing songs, not say much and leave. But the singer surprised me. Yes, she sang like crazy. I didn’t realize it before this performance, but she has an amazing high pitched voice and she loves to show it off. You wouldn’t know it from the photos, because I was standing there with my mouth open every time haha She also said various things. Since many of the songs on her setlist are 20 years old, she didn’t tell us much about them, but she did mention that her mother was in the audience. That she likes incense sticks on stage during the performance (in our case, she had them stuck in lemon halves) and that Ireland was the first country where her very first single “Single” ranked first in the charts. She was also very humble the whole time and thanked people a lot for coming and hoped that we would create a nice energy and atmosphere together. I think it worked. There was just a connection between the people and Natasha, which was clearly visible when she wiped her face of sweat, but was careful not to smudge her makeup. One lady in the front row immediately started offering Natasha her makeup bag, and Natasha was completely taken aback. Another funny moment occurred at the beginning of the set, when Natasha noticed seagulls circling above the audience and enthusiastically told us that they were there because of our great energy… In the meantime, the seagulls had flown in because of the food (there are plenty of them all over Dublin, especially in the city center).
Natasha is simply great and I’m so glad I had the chance to go and see her, even though she was probably never on my concert bucket list (simply because I didn’t think it would ever be possible). I would definitely go again sometime – a classic for me 🙂 In the end, I just recommend that you also treat yourself sometimes and treat yourself to something you loved as a child – whether it’s a concert, a trip, good food, building Legos, etc. These activities really do wonders.
