Channelling the power of the phenomenal feminine with Olivia Newton John, Beth Nielsen Chapman and Amy Sky

The divas take the stage. Olivia Newton John, Beth Nielsen Chapman and Amy Sky each command a formidable stage presence, but together they transcend the individual and blow the audience away with a programme drawn almost entirely from their new album: LIV ON.

Beth addresses the audience, telling us that they wanted to make a record that deals with all aspects of grief. From the heart-breaking, to the overcoming, even the downright ridiculous. The diverse songs on the LIV ON album do just that.

The entire show exudes love and caring feminine energy, a welcome and necessary antidote to certain negative masculinities being played out in the wider world.

LIV ON goes beyond entertainment value, although there is plenty of that. Olivia, Beth and Amy have all been through significant personal loss, and have chosen to channel that experience into a musical project which helps others deal with grief and bereavement.

This is a brave step. People do not talk easily about their own loss, and often we cannot find words to reach out to someone else in their grief.

By tackling this taboo subject, Olivia, Beth and Amy not only have laid bare their own deepest feelings, but also opened themselves up in a professionals sense, running the risk that people wouldn’t respond to this difficult theme.

If the packed Hall in Glasgow is anything to go by, nothing could be further from the truth. The audience, both within the concert hall and out in the world, have welcomed the comfort – and sometimes release – that LIV ON offers.

Stunning music is interspersed by personal stories, both from the performers, and certain courageous audience members.

Towards the end of the show, Amy Sky leads the ladies in a performance of the poem: ‘Phenomenal Woman’ by Dr Maya Angelou, which Amy had set to music.

This unabashed celebration of sharing, caring and carrying one another through difficult times perfectly captures the spirit of LIV ON.

Catch the rest of the LIV ON tour in the US, and listen to or download the album from the LIV ON website.