As an Australian of a particular vintage, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Ella Hooper’s Sydney gig, launching her latest album, ‘Overnight Success’. Best known to many as the 17-year-old who broke through, along with her brother Jesse, as part of the alt-rock / grunge group Killing Heidi, Hooper has since taken a different musical path embracing her love of country and Americana. On tonight’s evidence, she has brought plenty of the energy and amazing voice of her earlier career along for the ride.
Perhaps it was best described by my gig buddy for the night: “Like someone has crossed Dolly Parton with Kylie Minogue; she is a bundle of pure energy”.
That energy was on display from the moment Hooper burst onto the Petersham Bowlo stage, announcing to the room that her latest album Overnight Success had just hit number one on the Australian country music charts, and number 19 on the ARIA Billboard charts.
That energy carried both through each of the songs, with Hooper dancing and moving around the cozy bowling club stage as if she is in a much larger room, but also between every song. Hooper talks. A lot. At a million miles an hour. It is sweet and endearing, but also open, honest, and heartfelt, and at times incredibly raw, even if it is dressed up behind a veneer of humour.
She uses this time to talk about her lived experiences, how they find their way into her songs, her storytelling and if you didn’t already feel some sort of connection with her before, you probably would after, whether it is about receiving an adult ADHD diagnosis, about growing up living in the country and doing things “that country people do”, said with a cheeky grin.
So, this very intimate, conversational tone feels very natural by the time Hooper starts explaining where some of the deeper personal songs off her latest album come from. She explains that some of the more personal songs continue a story told on her previous album, reflecting on a difficult period marked by moving back to the country, turning 40, and both parents dying. Listening you begin to understand that she needed the time, and she eloquently explained that songwriting is about being lucky to have music in her life to turn *that* period into something.
As I am beginning to wonder if the talking, as if on speed, is a way to quickly move through or gloss over a lot of the difficult material that this album covers, or just Hooper’s nature, and especially wondering what the emotional burden it is to sing about such personal things night after night.
Hooper introduces another deeply personal track. She explains that music was her family’s love language. That her father was an English literature teacher. Her mother a drama teacher. And the next song was written, almost to be a playlist at her father’s funeral. It is slow. Serious. Beautiful. Thoughtful. Full of meaning. As someone who has also had a parent die, I felt the weight of the song, feeling both the hurt of my own loss, while recognising that I could never fully understand Hooper’s.
Hooper breaks the ice by saying “You didn’t know you had paid to go to my therapy session”.
Despite this seriousness, the night still felt like a big festive country barn dance, especially each time the violin was played and the crowd really leaned in and enjoyed the moment, first bringing out the phones and then smashing the Bowlo’s parquetry dance floor while Hooper yells “come on – get sassy!”.
If this is what country music is like, then we should all listen to more, especially live. The songs had that swing, the crowds clapping and just lifting your soul.
The final song of the night, ‘Cowboy Man’, brought an ironic smile to my face, having hooked the crowd on lyrics about wanting a cowboy to be a cowman, but a glance around the dance floor showed considerably more Converse and Adidas sneakers than cowboy boots.
The opening slot at any gig is always tough; people don’t know your music, they are still arriving, or in the case of Ruby Mae, talking all the way through the set. Had they stopped and listened for a moment, they would have been treated to a gorgeous solo set, with its shades of The Secret Sisters, the harmonies perfectly complementing the chords of her acoustic guitar.
Mae’s guitar skills were faultless, and her song selection equally so, showing incredible range in her vocals, with soaring vocals, to other tracks, like ‘Dickhead’ which brought with it a sweetness in her voice, which played beautifully off the song content.
Like all good support acts, by the end of her set, the chat had died down and people were drawn in for Ella Hooper to come, and if they were like me, had discovered a new artist to listen to, particularly on a Sunday afternoon, and just enjoy the experience of her music.
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Ella Hooper’s Upcoming Tour Dates
October 17, 2026
Red Hot Summer Tour – Toowoomba 2026
October 18, 2026
Red Hot Summer Tour – Sandstone Point 2026
October 24, 2026
Red Hot Summer Tour – Berry 2026
October 25, 2026
Red Hot Summer Tour – Manly 2026
October 31, 2026
Red Hot Summer Tour – Polkolbin 2026
November 1, 2026
Red Hot Summer Tour – Gold Coast 2026
November 7, 2026
Red Hot Summer Tour – Ballarat 2026
November 8, 2026
Red Hot Summer Tour – Mornington 2026
November 14, 2026
Red Hot Summer Tour – Perth 2026
November 15, 2026
Red Hot Summer Tour – Adelaide 2026
March 3, 2027
Anita’ Theatre, Thirroul
March 12, 2027
The Tivoli, Brisbane
March 13, 2027
Palais Theatre, St Kilda