Music review: Michael Bublé Floors Castle, Kelso

Canadian crooner Michael Bublé offers cosy pop nostalgia of all stripes, writes Fiona Shepherd

Michael Bublé Floors Castle, Kelso ***

Michael Bublé was delighted his audience had made the journey to the Scottish Borders, joking as he gestured towards the grand Georgian mansion on the hill that their patronage had allowed him to buy his seventh “house”. Floors Castle made for a beautiful backdrop on a chilly summer evening with the Canadian crooner headlining the first of three open air concerts taking place on the site over the course of this week.

His music may be big band lite but Bublé can muster the players, bringing his superb horn section over from the US and recruiting his strings in the UK who showcased their chops from the outset with the flourish and swagger of Feeling Good and their versatility on the swinging rockabilly of Such a Night and the Latin sashay of Sway, before providing massed backing vocals on When You’re Smiling.

Creamy-voiced Michael Bublé is a seasoned entertainer (Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Bublé brought the creamy voice and the oily presence of the seasoned entertainer, undercutting the standards in his set with his matey gestures and practised asides. However, a chance spot of his former Edinburgh-based stage manager in the crowd was a genuinely touching moment.

His original material is better cut to fit his stage persona, ranging from the cheerful throwaway pop of Haven't Met You Yet via the sentimental ballad Home to the jaunty It’s a Beautiful Day, with new single Higher another earworm hit in waiting.

His core band and backing singers joined him on the runway for a cheesy medley of Elvis covers and the party prevailed with the exultant disco strings of Barry White’s enduring You’re the First, the Last, My Everything.

Cosy pop nostalgia of all stripes was the game, with encore renditions of hits by The Drifters, James Taylor and another Elvis favourite, Always on My Mind, to satisfying the swaying couples in the cloudy sunset.