Sofia Isella’s headline show at the Birmingham O2 Institute had an early start with our main act taking to the stage at 7:30. Fortunately, it appears almost everyone with a ticket to this sold out 1,500 capacity room received the memo as it was packed out with plenty of time to spare before Sofia graced us with her presence. Her biggest hit ‘Hot Gum’ was second on the setlist and the audience were quick to let her know that they did not come here to play as their voices enveloped the whole room.
From start to finish, Miss Isella’s 90+ minute set was a performance piece and truly something to behold. She was the only person on stage but she commanded the audience and held every single person’s attention with ease. There was no fancy stage setup with her – just a myriad of different instruments which were picked up and put down as she demonstrated her many talents during each song so if her voice wasn’t enough to impress you, then this certainly helps. The strong messaging in her lyrics is incredibly powerful even when listening to a recorded track but the dramatics of her lighting, singing and performance as a whole was absolutely mesmerising.
Whilst it was a very femme strong audience, the male cheers could still be heard through the screams. When it came to ‘Dog’s Dinner’, the crowds singing can be heard over Sofia herself. An emotional track known as ‘Evergreen Solider’ was made even more emotional when one of the girls Sofia brought on stage started crying about being in the presence of her idol, as she bobbed her knee to (unsuccessfully) try and keep herself calm.
‘Above The Neck’ made itself a contender for loudest song of the night from the sheer noise that erupted as it started. After this, our leading lady commented on the bravery of men in attendance for the evening, as she mentioned she thought she’d scared them all off. ‘Us and Pigs’ is where she asked to hear everyone in the room and her request was met with pleasure as they filled in the gaps perfectly and ended up being louder than Sofia once again. ‘The Doll People’ was very clearly another favourite for the room.
At just 21 years old, Sofia uses her music to bring attention to women’s anger and struggles and it is something to admire. Her voice is strong and ethereal and completely juxtaposed to the dark, gritty subjects she sings about. It’s very clear to see how she’s garnered the audience she has and she deserved every single person in that room (and more)