Canadian singer-songwriter Lindsay Ell was on stage with Shania Twain during her Glastonbury Festival set on Sunday night, which drew concerns from fans who spotted that she struggled with her in-ear monitors amid patchy sound quality. However, in an exclusive chat with Express.co.uk, Lindsay has dismissed the technical difficulties as something that a seasoned pro has no fears about.
She added that, as someone who has been in the music business since the age of ten herself and has racked up a quarter of a century worth of live shows, “there’s one thing you can guarantee – nothing is going to be perfect.” She mused: “Sometimes when there is a live broadcast, there are just so many moving pieces, and especially when you’re putting so many bands on one stage so quickly that we don’t have time to do the same sound checks and set up that we do on a normal show.”
The songstress, who is bringing her own headlining country music show to London in a few days time, added: “I just thought Shania handled it like a pure pro. She obviously is a legend in her own right and has done this for so long and is a true veteran in these things.”
Meanwhile, she added that the adrenalin rush caused by the sound struggles only motivated the band to work harder. “I wasn’t nervous at all. It was more, if anything, that sometimes when you need to fight a little harder for the show, you play better.
“It’s like you need to dig a little bit deeper to hear something or to play something or to muscle through when everything isn’t sounding absolutely perfect.” She added: “I really think it is an adrenaline thing in the most beautiful way.”
Award-winning Lindsay revealed that Glastonbury was the most impactful festival she’s played at to date, even beating California’s Coachella, and she was moved to tears by the 75-minute set of “constant celebration”.
She teared up during ‘Still The One’, which saw the equally emotional crowd sing along a cappella, while the “feminist anthem” ‘Man, I Feel Like A Woman’ was also a highlight.
“It is a girl anthem. It is ‘Girl Power Unite’, for sure. I think it definitely leads into a feminist place – but I also think it celebrates the feminine sides of every single human on the planet, because I believe we all have feminine and masculine sides to ourselves,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Lindsay also shared an insight into Shania’s original plans to ride onto the stage on horseback, celebrating her country music roots.
Addressing the rumours about the grand entrance, she admitted that the idea had been vetoed because “bringing a horse in the middle of a music festival… it’s too loud for the poor horse’s ears”.
“But of course, being clever Shania, she always thinks of these things, and so she had a bunch of models come out with these horse heads on a stick, as a nod to this little rumor that had been going around!” she explained.
The singer had also wowed in the glamour stakes, donning a rhinestone-studded black cowboy hat and boots, satin gloves and a pink frilly outfit.
Even her microphone had been encrusted with crystallised sparkles as she went for the ultimate glammed-up festival look.
Lindsay offered an insight into that too, revealing that she’s totally “hands-on” when it comes to choosing her outfits – and has an entire wardrobe team on tour with her to guarantee the very best visuals.
“It’s been so cool to see her customize an outfit for every single show, every single show on this whole tour over here in Ireland and the UK,” she exclaimed.
Referring to her show in Stirling earlier this week, she shared: “She came out in a custom skirt from a local designer from Scotland that had the Glasgow Tartan with leopard print together. It was just so creative and so cool.”
Shania’s tour is set to continue, including a hugely anticipated show at Hyde Park on Sunday, while Lindsay will be bringing her tour and unique music to London too, playing OMeara on Monday.