What better way to spend a Friday night than at the opera – in particular, a ‘Super Elastic Pop Opera’ starring the captivating Valencia Grace, which promised a night full of theatrics, expression, and out-of-this-world outfits. British born and transatlantic-raised artist Valencia Grace graced The Camden Assembly with an unforgettable performance.
The crowd waited in anticipation for the entrance of Valencia. After a poetic voiceover from Valencia herself, she soon entered the stage wearing an ethereal ensemble and a third eye on their forehead whilst singing her song ‘Opera’.
The crowd erupted with applause and the set soon continued, featuring various songs from their discography such as ‘The Holy Trinity’, ‘Lucky You’re a Star’, and ‘En Repeat’, a song depicting a world stuck in a cycle of numbing tragedy. These songs were not only hits with the crowd, but also an opportunity for Valencia to show off their musical range, blending pop and operatic vocals almost seamlessly.
Valencia then took the set in a slower direction, playing acoustic guitar and delicate piano chords for her songs ‘Skin’ , ‘There I Said It’ and ‘Picture Frames’. You could feel the love and emotion radiating from the crowd as these songs were performed with sincerity, and they eventually began switching their phone torches on, creating a beautiful connecting moment between the audience and artist. It’s times like this that you are really reminded of the impact behind artists and their songs.
Throughout the set, Valencia took moments to incorporate their own props, which reiterated her unique music, performance and style. They used items such as a lighter and cigarette and even continued to drink water out of a silver teapot, showing clearly that no detail is ever too small for a Valencia Grace show (especially a sold out one).
Valencia concluded the performance with their cover of ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries, shortly followed by her own song ‘Curtains’. Which of course, left the crowd wanting more when she inevitably left the stage, resulting in a chant: “We want S!ut!” (Valencia’s most recent single, which channels themes of queer pride, sexual empowerment and finding freedom from judgment).
Moments later, Valencia returned on stage for the encore of her magical pop opera and gave the crowd exactly what they were chanting for. Her energetic encore consisted of her songs ‘S!ut’, ‘Super Elastic’, ‘Voodoo’ (an unreleased song), and they finished their incredible set on their melancholy pop hit ‘Everything Reminds Me of You’.
After the show, people raced to the merch stand to not only pick up their own Valencia Grace merch, but to also hopefully meet Valencia. The merch consisted of various T-shirt designs, stickers and albums which every fan hoped to have signed by Valencia. She made her way through the crowd one by one, speaking to every fan, taking pictures, signing merch and showing love and appreciation to the fans.
Valencia Grace will be doing various shows in the US in the upcoming months, including two nights in LA and she will also be attending Lollapalooza Chicago in August this year, and I would definitely recommend seeing them in their very own Super Elastic Pop Opera.
Support came from the brilliant Carrie Sauce and Ice Amour. This drag queen duo warmed up the crowd with various iconic pop covers from artists such as Cher, Lady Gaga and Chappell Roan, paired perfectly with flirty crowd banter and even a strip reveal from Ice Amour.
Follow Valencia Grace on valenciagrace.com | youtube