Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Imagine being able to witness an entire room perfectly entranced by a performer. It doesn’t have to be a large arena, nor a parlour where several people are rapt in the gaze of a poet, unconsciously flirting with the master of the ode, but somewhere in between, somewhere that resonates with the heartbeat of a music fan, a place where history was so often made, where photographers held their breath waiting for that one perfect moment…that is the position where you yourself as the witness lose the awareness of your soul and are captivated by the unfolding scene before you.
Recorded in March of 2024, the prodigious and versatile Hannah Wicklund brings to the general public’s attention a night in which she owned one of the most famous venues in all of the United States, a location which brought artists and bands to the world’s conscious, Elton John, Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and was the career birthplace of Randy Newman, Buffalo Springfield, and which in the hands of Ms. Wicklund now holds an even greater sense of majesty as we progress through the 21st Century.
Hannah Wicklund’s Live At The Troubadour, released by Strawberry Moon Records, sees the audience in Los Angeles treated to one of the finest, captivating evenings that they could imagine, and whilst the album does it every bit of justice, the concert footage available of the entire gig gives it further credence of just how astonishing the moment is.
The live recording sees Ms. Wicklund, along with her full band, entrance the crowd with songs and memories from the two critically praised albums, Hannah Wicklund and the Steppin Stones, and 2024’s The Prize, and the passing of energy, the build up of expectation is to be found in every pore and muscle as you can almost hear the audience taking a stand of moral support and the silence of appreciation.
Across songs and loved expressions such as the opener Hell In The Hallway, Shadowboxes And Porcelain Faces, The Prize, Can’t Get Enough, Dark Passenger, Bomb Through The Breeze, and the exquisite Strawberry Moon, the first headline show that Ms. Wicklund has performed at the famed venue is one that is solidly captured by the moment, and by the sheer tenacity forged as the show progressed.
Life is a game of avoiding obstacles and finding peace and serenity in the dream of your art, and in Live At The Troubadour, the artist roars with passion, the sound growls with ardour, and the dream itself is one of absolute brilliance. A splendid addition to the growing cannon of an artist unafraid of growth and dominance.
Ian D. Hall