UPSAHL took London’s sold out Courtyard Theatre by storm with feisty teen energy and lush devil-may-care nonchalance.

If you haven’t heard of her yet, we can bring you up to speed so strap yourself up for this one. Critically acclaimed singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Arizona, UPSAHL has carved out a niche in the songwriting world as she has lent her pen to numerous hits spanning various genres such as Dua Lipa’s GRAMMY Award-winning Good In Bed, Madison Beer’s fiery single BOYSHIT, and Happy Endings with Mike Shinoda and iann dior which went Top 10 at Alt Radio. Most recently, she collaborated with Anne-Marie and Little Mix and co-wrote Kiss My (Uh Oh), a current Top 10 single in the UK. On top of it all, she has been making a name for herself as a singer too and after two EPs, she’s finally crowned everything with the intoxicating, badass alt-pop debut album Lady Jesus.

Now back to the show – you’re probably expecting a mosaic of song styles and you’re not wrong. UPSAHL beelined through her back-catalogue to showcase a swirly combination of vibes and attitudes through the unapologetic and low-key proud Arizona, the anthemic and rebellious Notorious, the laid-back, slightly antisocial Drugs and the funny and ludicrous Lunatic to name a few. But throughout the set, one thing remained constant: the bad bitch, confident and not-easily-impressed vibes standing at the base of each and every song. Effortlessly getting the audience engaged and jumping to the beat, she was radiating a contagious joie de vivre while jumping from one corner of the stage to the other thus filling a stage too small for such a big presence. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise, an encore was vehemently requested which led to the already epic show to end in the best possible way: with the title-track Lady Jesus soaked in slick and ominously intimidating top-female energy.

Embarking on a US tour supporting Olivia O’Brien, she’s surely an act worth going early for. Even beyond this, UPSAHL is an artist to keep an eye out for in the future – we sure will.

Photos: Adriana Vasile