LOS ANGELES, CA- The L.A. based electropop/rock band Hey Violet broke into the alt-pop scene in 2015 and made waves in 2017 with their debut album From The Outside and its smash single “Guys My Age”. The band, now a trio consisting of front-woman Rena Lovelis, her sister Nia Lovelis (on drums), and Casey Moreta (guitar) after Iain Shipp’s departure, have recently put out new singles and recently wrapped up a mini-tour of four cities.
Their latest single, “Close My Eyes” is a light pop song that shows yet another side of the band’s many stylistic faces. It’s more atmospheric than the downtempo cuts on From The Outside, and doesn’t have the ominous sonic tones, rebellious themes or musical “drops” that a song like “O.D.D.” has. In fact, “Close My Eyes” may be their most tender song to date.
With new music in tow, a return to the stage in their hometown was just what Hey Violet needed to start the next chapter of their musical journey.
Kicking off the music for the evening was the exciting new talent Sage Charmaine. At only 16 years old, this young woman has been dropping some seriously polished pop cuts. Her debut EP don’t leave me is 8 solid cuts of pop confections. Of course, when you have someone like PJ Bianco (Fifth Harmony, Demi Lovato, LP, The Veronicas, the list goes on and on) behind the decks on your tracks, odds are you’re going to get a solid return.
As for her performance, her voices belies her actual age, and her time in front of the camera (she was a child television star) is evident as she knows how to work a crowd to engage the audience.
There’s a lot of potential in this one, and that’s why we actually featured her for our own showcase at Madame Siam last month. We’re planning on doing an interview with her, so stay tuned for that!
After Sage Charmaine’s entertaining set, the crowd was eagerly anticipating Hey Violet’s descent from the upstairs greenroom onto the stage.
For those who were worried about whether Iain’s departure would effect Hey Violet’s sound, those concerns were assuaged early as Hey Violet enlisted the help of the talented multi-instrumentalist Hayley Jane Batt to accompany them. Rena gushed about Hayley’s musicianship exclaiming that she had masterfully perfected 15 songs for this tour and was a seamless addition to the overall sonics.
Their performance was essentially a performance of their entire repertoire. They played almost the entirety of their debut album save “Fuqboi”, “Like Lovers Do” and “This Is Me Breaking Up With You”, which are interesting selections as those are the most “punk” leaning tracks from that album. They also dusted off a track from their 2016 EP that didn’t make their debut album, “Pure”. Special treats for Hey Violet die-hards were the performances of the unreleased songs “Queen of the Night” and “Clean” in addition to a swelling cover of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”.
I found it particularly admirable that Hey Violet has been able to confidently return the stage despite recent controversies. The way that they took the stage on this evening was filled with a fiery spunk that reflects the edgy vibrations of their music. Casey and Nia were all smiles as they performed throughout the evening, even waving to friends in the audience who were there to support them.
That sense of appreciation and love was on Rena’s face as well throughout the evening. The joy she was feeling was clearly evident. As the audience sang along with her, she’d let them take over singing duties by holding out her mic and letting the room fill with hundreds of admiring voices throughout choruses. And when Rena was singing, whether in a piercing, crystalline voice or quiet, emotional intensity, she sang with a palpable passion heightened the experience for everyone in the audience, and that authentic energy had the crowd eating out of her hand even more.
It will be interesting to see how Hey Violet continues from here. Surely, there is new music in the queue waiting to be recorded and released, but whether the music takes on yet another musical facet, I think Hey Violet can rest assured that their fans will be there with them whatever path they decide to take.
Follow Hey Violet on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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