Lola Young Finishes Short Tour With Emotional Show At Brixton Academy
TOPNOTE reviews the final night of Lola Young’s comeback tour in London. Image credit: Chuff Media
‘Through laughter, tears, and technical issues, Lola Young served London a grounded version of her best hits and worst fears to an audience of true supporters.’
Lola Young has donned a matching tracksuit, scraped her hair back, put her hoops in, and she’s good to go. She stands on stage at Brixton Academy looking refreshingly real; someone you’d bump into on a night out. The difference is, her ‘night out’ is performing to almost 10,000 people across two sold-out dates at the London venue last week.
And that’s her going slow. Following a break from touring and public life to prioritise her mental health not long after last year’s sophmore ‘I’m Only F**king Myself’, the singer unwittingly generated momentum for an ongoing movement pushing for better industry protections and boundaries on the personal lives and demands of touring artists. Young’s decision to gradually reintroduce herself on the live stage for the first time since her tour was cancelled in September was welcomed by fans lucky enough to snap up a ticket for the last of 6 shows (extended from an initially scheduled four).
TOPNOTE attended her second night at O2 Academy Brixton last Friday. Read our review below.
After the role of warming up a baking room was undertaken by singer-songwriter Annabelle Dinda, Lola Young kicks things off with ‘Sob Story’, welcomed on-stage by the excited cheers of thousands greeting a close friend they’ve missed for a while. Confident and grounded, she takes in the venue from her central mic stand, where she stays for most of the show. Her presence is calm but commanding, and when she does occasionally gesture, walk across the stage, or kick her Mary Jane heels in the air, the audience love her even more.
“It’s unanimously clear that everyone in the venue wants Lola Young to succeed, at this gig and beyond.”
She proclaims them the best of the tour, which seems warranted, for the shouts and stomps when she briefly leaves the stage are earsplittingly loud. This isn’t standard fangirl screaming from the overwhelmingly female crowd – it’s heavy, weighted applause that carries the support of everyone in the venue, and it’s emotional to listen to as an onlooker, let alone to internalise as an outpouring of personal encouragement.
‘I was with my manager… in the hotel, I think it was in New York I can’t even remember, and I had to cancel everything, and I literally was laying in bed, and I thought, this is it for me. No one’s gonna show up, the world is f***king closing in… and so I just wanted to say, thank you so much for buying this ticket. And to anyone who feels like they’re struggling with whatever it is, you just have to remember, take time with yourselves, surround yourself with people who love you, you are loved, you know? They’re telling me to talk more because there’s a technical issue so excuse if this is a load of bulls**t, but I just like… yeah, how’s your day going?’
The tech difficulties which force her to make a few shuffles to the setlist remind us what the world loves about Lola Young: an unflinching honesty, an unfakeable authenticity, and an unignorably brilliant voice. Turning to the acoustic section of her show after just one song, the bare notes of the piano meld with the low growls on ‘CAN WE IGNORE IT? :(‘ and for a couple of minutes, the room shrinks to an awed silence.
Lola Young’s set is not filled with back-to-back bangers. Most of them are saved for a boost of energy in the last third, though ‘You Noticed’ from 2024 debut ‘This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway’ presents a softer, more intimate side to the 25-year-old. Between it are the goosebump-inducing roars of ‘SPIDERS’ and the extra-poignant choruses of ‘Not Like That Anymore’. With a tearful voice, Young points out the fans ‘bawling their eyes out’ in the front row. Clutching the microphone close while the crowd fills in the gaps, there’s doubt if she’s going to make the long notes, or miss them completely. And then, with a deep breath, they’re belted out with fully fluent clarity.
“The tech difficulties which force her to make a few shuffles to the setlist remind us what the world loves about Lola Young: an unflinching honesty, an unfakeable authenticity, and an unignorably brilliant voice.”
Lola Young’s brand of femininity is powerful and resonant. Cutting through the thick air of the stuffy venue like butter, her voice, both spoken and sung, is back to remind us exactly what she stands for. And of course, how better to end it than with Young’s unequivocal anthemic finale, ‘Messy’, – the song of a generation performed as loudly by the audience as the performer they so adore.
Lola Young at Brixton Academy. Image credit: TOPNOTE