While on my way to Union Transfer, I was very intrigued by tonight’s upcoming festivities. Not only was it my second time seeing girl in red, but also my first time seeing Holly Humberstone. Knowing this info and the growing discography that each has dropped on their own, I knew tonight was gonna be full of great photos, fire music and amazing vibes.

First to take the stage was the young Holly Humberstone. Holly Humberstone has been an artist that's been on my radar since the start of quarantine back in 2020. I was actually exposed to her music through the Pollen playlist on Spotify (shoutout to the folks over at Pollen and Spotify) with the song “Overkill”. With the beautiful tone of her voice and sick guitar riffs, I was automatically intrigued with her style of music and needed to hear more. Ever since, I've been in tune with her songs and was excited to see it live. To my surprise, she actually performed “Overkill” live, then went into “Please don’t leave just yet”. While at the show, that was my first time hearing that song and I immediately fell in love. While she was performing, the track gave me the vibes of a softer and monotone version of the 1975’s “Love It If We Made It”, especially with the beat selection, but instead the 22-year-old singer-songwriter adds her own touch that makes it her own. During the rest of her performance, she performed five other original tracks. Even if you are not a fan of her music, you can truly appreciate her growing stage presence and instrumental presence while performing. This is definitely an artist I’ll keep on my radar in the coming years.

After a brief break in between sets, it was finally time for girl in red to take the stage. To prepare for the performance, I had to reminisce of the time last October when I saw her perform in Washington, DC. Her sets involve a lot of crowd participation, telling stories of how she fell and mosh pits galore.

To set the tone for the night, she starts things off with the song “You Stupid Bitch”. This is one of the most fun, yet bitter songs I have ever heard. After that she transitions into “Body and Mind” followed by “Girls”, a personal favorite of mine. While performing “Girls”, the crowd sang the lyrics back to her in unison while she began to choke up a bit. During this time, it really hit me that her storytelling within her work is truly touching. In the track, which originally dropped on SoundCloud in 2018, the Norwegian artist speaks in depth about her sexuality while expressing the conflicts that come with coming out. Another notable track of the performance was 2021 hit “Serotonin”. From start to finish, the energy was crazy on both ends, conclusive with Marie stage diving to the notable track.

girl in red and Holly Humberstone are two prime examples of creative artists who are doing an amazing job of furthering the path for their respected genres at such young ages. I cannot wait to see the impact they will have in the future.

girl in red

Holly Humberstone