We review Jade Helliwell at her first headline gig at Zigfrid von Underbelly with support from Jess Thristan.
Following her performance on the Icon stage at this year’s C2C festival, and more recently as a main act at last week’s Buckle and Boots festival, the UK has seen Batley-born, Jade Helliwell take centre stage with the release of her latest single ‘Storm Chaser’ and her first headlining show at Hoxton’s Zigfrid Von Underbelly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwefgxptFXM
Fellow Yorkshire gal, Jess Thristan opened the show with a bunch of new songs such as ‘Return’, ‘Aiming For Me’, and a song that depicted the heartbreak in her parent’s divorce – ‘Made For Each Other’. It can be quite a risk for an opening act to be so vulnerable and open to sharing their struggles, but for Thristan it just made me want to get to know her all the more; a sense of comfort that Thristan was able to quickly achieve, with the many fans that spoke to her after her set.
One of Thristan’s songs that caught my ear was a track called ‘Ruined It’ – a song that Thristan revealed she has never performed live before; but I hope that she will soon release as a single. ‘I haven’t worn that little black dress in just over three damn months / Cause it’s the one I wore to impress you at our first date restaurant’, her near rhymes and near closure exposed in the song sound perfect for the opening of perhaps a sophomore break-up album. While the singer disclosed in the track that there’s been many things she had to quit, her closing song had Thristan wanting to return to ‘The Old Me’; a title that she tells us to pay close attention to – I can only assume this might be the title of her next project.
With the anticipation building for Helliwell’s arrival, Jade burst onto the stage with her hit ‘Boom Tick’. With everyone immediately on their feet, we were reminded that Helliwell doesn’t require a microphone to sing; that girl can make Adele’s belting vocals sound like a whisper. Boom Tick is currently Helliwell’s 5th most listened-to song on Spotify, and is by far her most energetic track.
A video of the 26 year old performing Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah with a fellow Leeds busker, was uploaded by a friend back in 2017. Following it’s virality, Helliwell was able to release two EPs, go on to win Vocalist Of The Year at the BCMA awards, and Outstanding Artist at the Yorkshire Roots awards; the rest is history. ‘They say it happens when you least expect it’ is true to the Yorkshire lass’s stardom and the first line of her second song of the night.
‘By My Side’ and ‘Numb’, two other tracks from her 2018 EP ‘Infatuation’, showcase those trembling, raw sustained holds that reminded us of both Helliwell’s heartbroken and heartbreaker sides. Showing her love for other fellow female country singers, the artist spoke about seeing Cassadee Pope’s CMT Next Women of Country Tour and performed ‘Take You Home’ in homage to Pope. There are as many layers to Helliwell’s character as there were frills on her jumpsuit that night, a great balance between taking influence and tribute as she transitioned into back into her own track ‘Ask Me To Stay’.’ This last had an intimate feel to it, despite being supported by a full band. It was as if Jade was pleading her case all by herself.
Another sister salute came shortly after with Danielle Bradbery’s ‘Hello Summer’. Delivering the same level of sass as The Voice winner, Helliwell seemed to interact more with her band on this one; bouncing off guitarist and boyfriend, Luke Thomas’ energy for the summer romance song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAOYf5kvyiM
It’s easy to forget that Helliwell has not (yet) had a full album to her name – the 19 song set list was just hit after hit after hit, coursing through car sing-along tracks ‘Drive’ and March’s release ‘Storm Chaser’ (the artist’s first experiment with poppier vibes and synths). Helliwell may well be planning to release her first full album soon with the hint of her new song ‘Put It On You’. Using this new and sassy sound, Helliwell sings ‘I ain’t got the time to be acting like a lady, and you don’t have to be a gentleman/ If you don’t put it on me baby, I’ll put it on you’, a track so catchy that the audience were already singing along to the chorus, having only previewed the song that night. Jade Helliwell is an incredibly high energy performer, combined with a real vulnerability and spirit and it is my hope that this her first headline show is just the first of many more to come.
Be sure to listen to Storm Chaser on Spotify.
