South London born artist Lola Young, embarked on her second leg of her first US tour this summer gracing Austin with her presence at ACL Fest Nights.
If you haven’t heard by now, Lola Young is the next big British sensation to hit the airwaves, and it’s only a matter of time until you’re adding her songs to your playlist as well. London’s own Lola Young has broken out of the UK and hit the global stage with her one of a kind alternative pop sound and style, deep emotionally charged lyrics, cheeky charm and fun personality, and brilliant social media marketing tactics where she’s previewed snippets of her songs to self made videos, garnering a large social following as well as incredible fan base.
The young singer has accomplished incredible feats this year having released her new album, This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway, in which she launched her first two leg headlining US tour to support it, and played multiple festivals across the globe including Lollapalooza, Bludfest, and most recently ACL. 2024 was a great year for the Lola and a great year to be a Lola fan, especially if you live in Austin with three chances to see her live. Following her first weekend performance at ACL, fans had a chance to catch her at a sold out solo show at a more intimate setting in Antone’s Nightclub in the heart of downtown.
Excitement was in the air and the anticipation was building in line for Lola’s first official healinging show in the city. The crowd began to pile into Antone’s immediately as the doors opened and the audience patiently awaited to see the artist of the night perform.
The show began with local Texas artist Emeryld hitting the stage to kick the night off. Emeryld gave an amazing performance showcasing a wide range of vocals through her set of somber yet powerful songs delivered with intense passion and raw emotions that was fully embraced by the audience.
Her southern attitude bled through her music over songs that painted vivid pictures of her life, pain, and heartbreaks that cast a spell over the audience who were mesmerized by her performance. She also proved to be incredibly personable as she engaged with the crowd throughout her set, giving back stories to her songs, vulnerably speaking on her emotions and feelings of her set in between songs, and even conversing with fans in the front who sang along to her tunes word for word to her excitement.
Emeryld showed many sides to her with a complex and perplexing performance, even giving Lola a run for her money and starting off the night with an amazing performance.
The crowd was warmed up and ecstatic for the headliner coming off the high from watching an incredible opening act. After a short intermission, Lola hit the stage with her unique true to self style and energy rocking a wild furry Yankees cap and patchwork denim jeans. She started the show off with a banger “Good Books”, an emotional ballad about a troubled relationship and giving her heart to someone who didn’t deserve it, a common theme throughout her music, and especially with this album in particular. The crowd of devoted fans responded accordingly with magnificent enthusiasm, singing along to every lyric, chanting Lola’s name, and shouting with glee.
The show was a rollercoaster of emotions transitioning from hard hitting bangers from singles like “Wish You Were Dead” and “Flicker Of Light”, to groovy laid back tracks like “Big Brown Eyes” and “Conceited” to emotional ballads like “Crush” and “What Is It About Me”, it encapsulated the ups and downs people go through in the human experience which is what makes her so relatable and loved by her fans. One fan in particular kicked their love and devotion up a notch by throwing their bra on stage to which Lola graciously caught and tried on in the middle of the show.
The remarkable talent that is Lola Young brought the room together to get a full release from their troubles and to celebrate the positivity through Lola’s down to earth energy and incredible music under the fittingly intimate venue. It was a show for the books from an artist that brings a one of kind energy.
I’m a photographer currently based in Austin after recently relocating from Denver, CO. I graduated from the University of Colorado, Denver in 2019 with a degree in Business Management. I love music of all genres and have been going to live shows since I was 5 years old. Some of my favorite artist currently include Freddie Gibbs, Lola Young, Ivy Lab and Knocked Loose, but that is always subject to change.
