Wednesday, February 27th, was a beautiful, warm day with a sun softly shining on London’s blue sky. On that same Wednesday, in the evening, South-London’s Joy Crookes headlined a sold-out show at O’MEARA.
In a wooden wrapped room, with a massive chandelier above our heads, Ego Ella May performed as Crooke’s opening act. The worn out aesthetic of the venue gave out this romantic vibe, working smoothly with the music performed that evening. Accompanied by her guitarist, May delivered a soulful set of her own songs. Beginning the evening with her performance felt like the perfect choice. This was a chance to witness live one of our favourite singers, but it also turned out to be a night of discovery: the discovery of a talented woman with a beautifully soft voice featuring different styles.
If the name Ego Ella May doesn’t ring bell, take a few minutes of your day to treat your ears to her latest single, ‘Table for One’. When digging into her discography, one also cannot help but fall in love with the song ‘Love Language’ by East London-based rapper, Barney Artist, who featured her on it, back in 2014.
While waiting for Joy Crookes to take place in front of the microphone, her Spotify playlist titled ‘Joy To The World’, made for this very special occasion, was playing. Alongside some of her favourite tracks, on both extremities of the stage, two small white machines wafted a lightly scented aroma.
Then, the excitement rose in the room and conversations and interactions grew louder. But as the lights started to dim down, a saxophonist, a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist/keyboard player came on stage. Following a harmonious tuning of their instruments together and the first notes of the main act’s first song titled, Mother May I Sleep with Danger?, the singer came on stage and left every single person in the room in a stage of adoration and admiration for her unique voice.
Her set continued with a few slower songs, dedicating one to her father, present in the room. As her hands were shaking, Joy Crookes attempted to control her emotions and was holding on tight to her microphone. She delivered an intensely flawless performance, bravo.
In case we needed more feelings, she then followed up with a breakup song. Let’s not get into that, but before moving on to some of our other favourites, she did state “fuck break up songs”. Who is going to disagree with that?
If you thought seeing Joy Crookes perform her songs live is a huge deal, wait till you see her perform a cover of Kendrick’s “Element”. A both chill and soulful rendition of one of Lamar’s tracks featured on his latest album brought the night to a whole other level. And we’re not just saying that because of the incredible heat causing everyone to sweat big time.
The singer is on a roll since the release of her latest EP ‘Reminiscence’ and she won’t be done anytime soon. As we share our photos and thoughts towards her latest live-performance, Crookes is already getting ready for a headline show at the one and only Jazz Café on June 5th.
So while waiting for her unreleased love declaration song to London to be released, we strongly invite you to take the time to appreciate her confident, powerful yet softly emotional songs.
Comentários