Sugababes 'push the button' as they kick off Live at the Marquee 2024 

There was a rush of excitement as the first night of Live At The Marquee kicked off Thursday evening.

A sugar rush to be exact, as pop trio Sugababes took to the stage under the famous blue-and-yellow-striped tent.

The girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy, was met by an enthusiastic crowd of all ages, as both young and old sang along to the nostalgic pop hits of their childhood.

Even the husbands and boyfriends that seemed to have been begrudgingly dragged along by their partners, were quickly singing and dancing along.

Doors to the first night of the 2024 LATM schedule opened at 8pm and Cork’s own Stevie G warmed up the crowd ahead of the main act’s entrance at 9pm.

Sugababes opened with well-known songs ‘Red Dress’, ‘Hole in the Head’ and ‘Ugly’, which were warmly welcomed by the Cork crowd.

Setlist

The setlist slowed mid-show as the trio sang some of their newer and slower songs, before ramping back up the energy to perform their most well-known hits ‘Push the Button’, ‘Round Round’ and finally, ‘About You Now’.

The hour-long show went off without a hitch, but what was slightly disappointing was the quality of sound when the group took breaks to chat to the crowd in between songs.

The muffled sound had this writer asking ‘What did they say?’ on more than one occasion. This, thankfully, was only an issue during the breaks and not throughout the songs themselves.

Mexico

An already great night was made all the better by meeting Abraham and Ying, who told me that they had travelled to Cork all the way from Mexico especially for the concert.

“We thought that we would never get to see them perform live because they are not popular where we were from,” they said. “We were crying through the whole show.”

Abraham added: “I have been a fan of the Sugababes since I was eight years old, which was about 22 years ago, and their songs remind me of my childhood and teenage years.” 

That sentiment seemingly summed up the overwhelming feeling among fans as 'I love this one' and 'I remember this one' echoed across the crowd as the trio launched into each song. 

Overall, the first night of LATM 2024 at its new location was a smash hit.