LIVE: Lennon Stella @ Anson Rooms

Lennon Stella may only be one woman, but her ability to connect with and impact every person individually in the audience was palpable during her headline show in Bristol. Playing the Anson Rooms, Stella made the roomy venue feel small and intimate, with flares of personality in every performance exuding a sense that she was sharing something special for us only, despite only having two shows left on the EU/UK leg of her 2020 tour.

Most will recognise Lennon Stella from popular American musical drama television series Nashville; throughout her time on the show, Lennon gained incredible support on social media often posting covers and performances that left fans begging for an album. In 2018 she released her debut EP Love, me with her single 'La Di Da' which accumulated over 100 million streams on Spotify. Stella also lent her voice to Jonas Blue’s 'Polaroid' and The Chainsmokers 'Takeaway', which she performed acoustically at her show, stripping down it's production values, proving her sheer vocals and musicianship to a mesmerised crowd.

Opening with an unreleased song 'Black Light', Stella danced her way through her bright, high-energy tracks 'Fortress', 'BITCH (takes one to know one)' and 'Feelings', the audience euphorically singing the words back to her, and to each other. With the atmosphere like a dance-party in your living room, it was visible to see her words of love, heartache, and empowerment connecting friends and strangers; in the more still and poignant moments of her set, with tracks like the heart-wrenching 'Like Somebody Else', Stella’s stunning vocals carried through the room, emotion dripping from each lyric.

Not only did she showcase what's to come from her highly-anticipated album (and somehow transforming Cyndi Lauper’s 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' into a beautiful and haunting piano ballad), Stella displayed she's still the same artist as she was in her days of YouTube covers despite her success, humbly making each song her own and adding an emotional depth with the honest vulnerability in her voice.

With debut album Three. Two. One. impending, it's shaping up to be a promising year for Lennon Stella.

Photo Credit: Megan Fragopulu