HOLLY HUMBERSTONE LIVE AT LONDON’S EVENTIM APOLLO

★★★★★ (5/5)

HOLLY HUMBERSTONE PERFORMING AT LONDON’S EVENTIM APOLLO
PHOTOCREDIT: CHARIS LYDIA BAGIOKI

Just before Holly hit the stage, we were surprised to see the ‘best warm-up’ band Medium Build take the stage of the sold out Eventim Apollo in London on a rather pleasant evening.

The duo hailing from Alaska, warmed up the venue with their indie soft melodies, a perfect start to what was about to come. Sporting sunglasses indoors and elaborate earrings, the duo consisting of Nick and ‘he who calls himself Paul’ blessed their audience – among them their parents too – with alternative and soul-filled songs, emotional lyrics and some very-well needed screaming (and if you think you can’t do that at an indie song, you are very wrong) that run through their elaborate songs. The atmosphere was great, it was like a modern tale fantasy filled with guitars, keys and electro, merging Americana and indie rock sounds. It is a band you could easily imagine opening up for Arctic Monkeys – and I have been told they have opened up Finneas and Lewis Capaldi, so there you have it – and their emotional lyrics really touched the audience.

Highlight of the set, last song hailed the lyrics ‘everything I am today is cause of you’, making the audience swing and sing along to the rhythm, and I could swear I saw a few people around me shed a tear or two when the song ended.

Shortly after this wonderful set, the curtain dropped and a big web with Holly’s name written on it in flickering block letters meant that it was time for the main act. Holly, despite her young age, is not a stranger to touring the UK, and her rapid growth from smaller venues to larger ones like the Apollo – did I mention it was sold out? – really shows. She has been in the spotlight as a singer and songwriter for a while now, even though her career has only just started. Mixing alternative, indie and pop, along with trendy ballads and relatable lyrics, she has only recently released her debut album, Paint My Bedroom Black. With a pixie presence on the dimly lit stage and a guitar – and a full band behind her mind you – she kicked off her beautiful set with the song named after her album, an ethereal melody that filled the walls of this historic venue.

Holly’s songs – following the starter song she performed Into Your Room and The Walls Are Way Too Thin – are like a teenage story. You could imagine yourself being a young rebel, betrayed by a loved one or a friend, expressing all your rage in a very contained manner. Holly’s comments on her songs and the backstories about them, such as the intimate and personal connection she has to some lyrics, meant that not only could the crowd relate to her more but she made the experience of attending her concert much more personalised and meaningful.

The sweet yet slightly sad melodies of Vanilla, Deep End, London is Lonely and Flatlining put the crowd in a trance. While the atmosphere was soft, the heavy meaning behind the songs made her performance even more captivating and emotional. But it was not all gloom and doom, the crowd-favourites Falling Asleep at the Wheel and (my also personal favourite) Ghost Me were very warmly received, as the crowd sang along word for word. The elaborate set finished off with Scarlett, one of her more upbeat songs that closed off the last show of her tour.

Holly’s set was enchanting, it was like dying and being reborn at the same time, finding yourself relating to the struggles of a young girl from a small town, something that doesn’t happen that often. Her performance felt very personal and emotional, and the crowd seemed very receptive to her brutal honesty and heartbreak. She is an artist that is very promising and definitely one to watch in the coming months.