Back in August, we had the chance to chat with up-and-coming indie singer-songwriter Jo Hill about the first single, ‘Big Boys Cry Too’, on her upcoming debut album. Fast forward three months and here we are, in Moth Club Hackney, preparing to celebrate the release of that album: girlhood., at her debut headline show.
The audience is first acquainted with Chrissi, an indie singer-songwriter from Essex, whose tongue-in-cheek lyrics and soulful vocals take the crowd on a rollercoaster journey from happy to sad to angry to sassy. She radiates sunshine and energy from the second she steps on stage, getting the crowd ready for the evening ahead.
As the harp begins to play the opening chords of ‘Pow Girl’, everyone’s eyes are fixed on the stage waiting for Hill to appear. Her voice fills the room and everyone turns to find her in the middle of the floor, where she remains for the duration of the song. She moves towards the stage during the first verse of ‘Where did Ella go?’, an emotional track about a girl she went to school with. Once on stage with her band, Hill boosts the energy with her upbeat track ‘Glastonbury’, a prime example of her indie-country-folk fusion.
“I wanted to do a little thing with you guys tonight,” she announces to the audience, before instructing everyone to check in on the men around them and see if they need a hug. “This is a song where you’re gonna hold hands and sing along” she says, as her band – including Kinga (guitar), Martha (keys), Gav (drums) and Max (bass and harp) – begin to play the uplifting track ‘Big Boys Cry Too’. She dances around the stage with her tambourine, interacting with the band and the audience, looking like she’s on top of the world.
“I’m looking for Havelock” Hill announces as she ventures back into the sea of people. A hand goes up and she makes a beeline towards him, before pulling him up to stand on the booth next to her. “Without this guy girlhood. wouldn’t have been possible” she explains. “But this next song is from a few years ago, and actually has Hal’s vocals on it, and I really wanted to sing with him tonight”. Handing him a mic, they sing ‘Coasting’, a track from Hill’s debut EP Down At The Res, which was released in 2022.
Jo Hill has always been transparent about her journey and the nature of this album. She describes it as a “healing record that was born from very turbulent times”, and shares a little more about some of the struggles she has dealt with over the past year. “If this next song resonates with you, then I’m sorry” she says, “but I also hope it can help you feel less alone… if you’ve got a little phone light, this is the time for it”.
A blanket of lights floods the room, lighting up Hill’s face amidst the crowd as she sings ‘Just as Strong”. The atmosphere in the room shifts as she sings “If you find me on the edge, know that I can find my balance,” bringing tears to more than a few pairs of eyes. The intimacy of the moment reflects Hill’s classic style of gatherings, as she extends a kind hand to anyone in the room who may need it.
Lifting the mood back up, she returns to the stage to sing some covers, including ‘Rich Girl’ by Daryl Hall and John Oates and ‘Take Your Mama’ by the Scissor Sisters, which get the whole room dancing and partying with her. The twist she puts on these tracks is spectacular, and she truly owns them like they were hers to sing all along. She performs her “last song”, ‘Coming Home To You’, which is met by cheers and chants begging for one more song. The band leave the stage, and the harp returns, which can only mean one thing.
It would feel wrong for Hill to conclude her debut headline show from the stage, so, in true Jo Hill fashion, Jo sneaks through the crowd to the centre of the room. Her incredible band returns to the stage and everybody turns to find her. A small circle has opened for her to stand in, which she jokes feels like the start of a mosh-pit. She closes the evening with ‘Honeymoon’ a mellow track about getting lost in the comfortable “honeymoon” stage of a relationship. She grabs people’s hands, pulling them into the circle to dance, until eventually the circle has shrunk, and the whole room is buzzing and moving together.
Hill truly is sunshine personified. She keeps it real whilst remaining uplifting and encouraging, and if her upcoming tour is anything like this first show, it’s going to be an extraordinary celebration, that you definitely don’t want to miss.
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