Cher, Rod Stewart, The Chemical Brothers and more: We give our verdicts on the year’s most memorable shows and gigs

Here, we take a look at the most memorable performances of the year...

Alison Norton

My highlight was meeting Beverley Knight at Willenhall Musical Theatre Company’s production of Sister Act the Musical in April 2019, writes Alison Norton.

Bev’s brother, Adrian Smith, was playing the role of Curtis in his first amateur musical performance and she was there with some other members of her family and friends to support him.

Bev said: “I am so proud of my brother! When I am away, I love meeting people from home too.”

The show itself was certainly in my top three of the best amateur performances I have seen all year, with superb performances from a strong amateur cast and a great vocal performance from Adrian Smith who certain has a similar talent to his famous sister. Add to that an amusing chorus of nuns, authentic costumes, simple but effective choreography which everyone on stage was capable of performing well and Sister Act was a wonderfully uplifting, side-splittingly funny show guaranteed to entertain all. In fact it was “Fabulous Baby!”

Secondly, my favourite professional show I have reviewed this year has to be Nativity the Musical, which played the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from October 29-November 1.

Following such a successful film version, the stage adaptation could have been a complete let down but this extravagant, well-directed highly technical production, with an outstandingly talented cast, of which the local youngsters brought in to play the various roles were without doubt the stars, delivered on every level.

It’s essentially a modern-day fairy story of a primary school’s nativity under the supervision of one stressed out teacher Mr Maddens and a completely crazy, child-like, out of control teaching assistant, Mr Poppy and was hilarious, heart-warming, nostalgic and sentimental and without doubt was the best show I have seen at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre this year.

Leigh Sanders

The last week of November was a great one for live shows in Birmingham, with Fontaines D.C. and The Chemical Brothers both providing knockout sets for completely different reasons that will be remembered for a long, long time, writes Leigh Sanders.

The Chemical Brothers in particular almost made this lot.

But the best night of the year was when two Californian 00s rock/rap/metal heavyweights arrived at the Second City’s O2 Institute to leave ears ringing well into the following week.

Alien Ant Farm and P.O.D. were headlining together on a UK tour, and luckily this night they played in that order. Alien Ant Farm...haven’t aged well. It feels naff and tacky, like that uncle at a family party so desperate to seem cool in front of the nephews and nieces.

So it goes to show how good P.O.D. were to make this gig of the year. They hit every single note, smashed every single riff and brought a sound system to the party that allowed them to play with all the ferocity and volume they like to do without the amps popping and the instruments being lost in a sea of feedback.

They brought the hits, they brought the better album tracks, and they devoted a lot of time to their exceptional 1999 record The Fundamental Elements Of Southtown as it was turning 20.

In Sonny Sandoval they have an attention-gripping frontman and he controlled that stage, bringing the rest of the band with him in a frantic party atmosphere that simply has to be seen. Forget the Christian rock elements, this band can go hard and go heavy. And they did.

James Driver-Fisher

Anyone of a certain era remotely interested in rap music owned Dr Dre’s 2001.

It was a game-changer, simple as that, so when a group of musicians and rappers got together to perform the entire album live, I had to attend.

Thank God I did too because it was a superb night at The Mill, well worked and thought out, which brought a lot of so many teenage memories.

The after party was something else too - an extra blast of hip-hop classics from the 1990s and early 2000s.

There were two standout reasons that Rod Stewart at the Molineux was such a brilliant night: 1) It was Rod Stewart live, and 2) We got to see the rock legend perform an open-air concert at Molineux.

The whole city was buzzing hours before the performance and when he hit the stage he didn’t let any of his fans down from the opening note to the last.

Seeing a rock god like that still strutting his stuff at the ripe old age of 74 will live long in the memory.

There are few bands from the rock heyday of the 1970s that form part of any self-respecting fan’s bucket list but the Eagles are one.

And, again, their performance at in Birmingham lived up to all my huge expectations.

Despite their advancing years, their singing and musicianship was just on point throughout their entire set. It was such a pleasure to catch them live.

Rebecca Sayce

Tell All Your Friends was the soundtrack to my teenage years, so when Taking Back Sunday announced they would be playing this album in full during their headline O2 Institute show in Birmingham, I practically jumped with glee.

I have seen the quintet play on many occasions, and always found their shows to be very hit or miss - sometimes they could be on fire, and others simply lukewarm, or tepid at best.

But the New York rockers lit the venue up as the audience cheered, cried, and danced along to each iconic hit. Exhilarating - that's the only word that can be used to describe this show.

If I Could Turn Back Time, I would go back and watch Cher's electric live performance at Arena Birmingham.

She may be 73 years old, but the songstress showed crowds in the city she's still got it with an energetic set packed full of smash hits, elaborate costume changes, mind-blowing set pieces and tongue-in-cheek anecdotes.

She even rode around the stage on a mechanical elephant - who doesn't want to see that?!

She's released a whopping 28 studio albums, starred in Oscar Award-winning films, hosted her own comedy show and has been dubbed the 'Goddess of Pop' - and her Birmingham show cemented that fact with no room for doubt.

After splitting in 2016, Welsh rockers Funeral For A Friend had never reformed, simply stating that they had no reason to. Until now.

Across three dates, Bridgend's finest performed intimate shows in order to raise money for a terminally ill fan's family.

From smash hit singles to rare B-sides, the band treated fans to a monster setlist delivered with incomparable energy. It was as if they never left, showcasing jaw-dropping energy from start to finish that left the audience breathless.

There is no live band on earth that can compare to Funeral For A Friend, and there never will be.