By Jacob Pellegrino
Icelandic jazz-pop singer-songwriter Laufey recently performed a sold out show at White Oak Music Hall’s downstairs stage. Having played a show in the much smaller upstairs room just over a year ago, Laufey’s growth in popularity was visible with a large crowd entranced by her music, packing into the venue for the show.
The show opened with Adam Melchor, a musician from New Jersey, who performed his set acoustic and unaccompanied, except by his guitar. Having never heard Melchor’s music before, I was not sure what to expect, but really enjoyed his set. His songs are largely based on intimate, personal experiences from his life, but the emotions they evoke are larger than the individual events. Melchor engaged the crowd throughout his set, talking about the inspiration behind songs and mixing in banter between songs. A particularly poignant song that he played, “Joyride,” is about an old family car that got stolen and the divorce of his parents, drawing a similarity in how it can be healthy to let go of things.
Laufey came out shortly after Melchor and instantly commanded cheers from the full room. She opened with “Fragile,” the album opener from her debut album, Everything I Know About Love. It quickly set the tone for the rest of the night, showcasing Laufey’s smooth vocals and jazz-influenced band. She regularly interacted with the audience, talking about how excited she was to be in the big room at White Oak after having seen it last time she was in Houston and how happy she was at the enthusiastic, sold-out crowd. At one point, she split the crowd in two, giving each one a part to sing with one of her songs and describing them as her choir.
As this was the Bewitched tour, the setlist skewed closer to her newest release, as she played almost every song from the album, including her bossa-nova inflected viral hit “From The Start,” where she changed the lyrics to “Houston, I loved you from the start.” After playing seventeen tracks, Laufey returned for a two song encore, playing “Letter To My 13 Year Old Self” and “Someone New” to the excitement of the crowd. The audience was particularly excited for “Letter To My 13 Year Old Self,” a track about how far she’s come that addresses prior sources of unconfidence.
The concert showcased Laufey’s unique mix of traditional, jazz-inflected vocal performances and pop. She is able to take sounds from as wide a range as bossa nova and jazz and synthesize them into music that is approachable for people without experience with the genre. Laufey’s unique style really breathes in a live environment and makes for a great performance.
