girl in red with Holly Humberstone
March 15th, 2022
Brooklyn Steel
Brooklyn, NY
In the music industry, it is often said that America is one of the hardest markets to break through. However, Norwegian indie-pop singer, girl in red, has clearly found the key to success. Selling out every stop on her North American and European tours, girl in red is the hottest commodity of the year. Luckily, I was able to catch her second, and final, sold out performance at Brooklyn Steel in New York City on March 15th.
When I arrived at Brooklyn Steel on the beautiful (almost) spring evening, the line was wrapped around the venue. Fans eagerly awaited their opportunity to get inside and catch a glimpse of girl in red herself. I entered the concert hall and already, 30 minutes before the shows start, the venue was packed to the brim.
At 8pm sharp, bathed in red light, British singer-songwriter, Holly Humberstone, took to the stage to kick off the show. Holly kicked off her short but sweet 25 minute set with “Overkill” before delving right into “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet”. Though the red light never dissipated throughout her set, her smooth vocals captivated the crowd as they watched intently as she bounced between vocals, guitar and keyboard – truly a one woman show! I really enjoyed Holly Humberstone’s performance that evening and I look forward to seeing where her career progresses!
As the clock inched closer to 9pm, the energy within the walls of Brooklyn Steel began to reach a maximum. Fans were chanting for girl in red to take the stage and shortly thereafter, the lights went dark. Fans screamed at the top of their lungs as the band took to the stage and girl in red herself, grabbed the mic and climbed atop a box on stage left. “Hey”, she said in the microphone before jumping off the box and ripping right into my personal favorite song, “You Stupid Bitch” off her debut album If I Could Make It Go Quiet.
I was pleasantly surprised by the level of energy I saw in girl in red’s performance as she commanded the attention of hundreds of people in that venue. Her high energy setlist was chock full of fan favorites like “Serotonin”, “we fell in love in october” and “Rue”. Perhaps my favorite part of the evening was the brief pause between the second and third songs, when girl in red addressed the crowd and helped a fan in the audience come out. “So you need help coming out? Well you’re going to come out to thousands of people in this room right now. What are you?” girl in red asked the audience member holding a sign asking for help coming out. Fans did some cooking hand gestures, which immediately clicked in girl in red’s head, “Ah, you’re pan. Okay, so you’re pan — you’re gonna fall in love with a beautiful girl here tonight. This song is dedicated to you.” That song? “Girls”.
girl in red never stopped bouncing around the stage throughout the entire performance. I think all of us at Brooklyn Steel that evening could agree that she put on a show for the ages. It’s very rare that a foreign musician comes to America and sells out every single date of their headlining tour and gives it their all every single night of that tour. girl in red did just that and I was truly blown away. Seeing a fellow queer artist dominate such a large space, working hard to create an inclusive and safe, loving atmosphere, it sent chills down my spine [in the best way].
For young folks who are just getting acclimated with their sexuality, it’s truly a blessing to have an artist like girl in red to look up to. She is such a talented and passionate musician and artist and it truly shines through every time she takes the stage. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for girl in red.
Holly Humberstone
girl in red
