A year-and-a-half ago, Holly Humberstone showcased her new album at an intimate, acoustic ‘hometown’ performance at The Level. On Saturday, the Grantham-born and Nottingham-anchored star returned to the same venue with a formidable array of new experiences now on her CV and with her third album close on the horizon...
With a subtle change of image, and on a stage decorated with props from her Die Happy music video (“a nightmare to transport”), Holly Humberstone looked more confident and in control than ever, but still disarmingly personal and vulnerable.
She opened with Love Somebody, easing through the rapid guitar strumming with absolute focus. That was followed by a chilled-out and slowed down version of Paint My Bedroom Black – a song which now sounds so familiar, so confident and so much part of the UK pop pantheon that it’s hard to believe how new it really is. On her last visit, Holly played the as-yet unreleased song as a tantalising show opener. Now, it’s a classic, stirring memories and, of course, a mass singalong.
“A Saturday night in Nottingham couldn’t be more perfect!” Holly said, before talking about how she frequently used to make the trip from Grantham to Nottingham to write songs, including the next one The Walls Are Way Too Thin. This was a mellow, reflective rendition, with a distinctly melancholy edge. Next, another older one – Into Your Room – where Holly’s vocals sounded particularly strong.
Between songs, Holly still sounds slightly nervous - or perhaps, more accurately, relatably honest. She explained how she’d been “on a whirlwind of touring” since lockdown and has only recently had some time to settle down to write.
“We’ve finally moved out of the haunted house,” she told us (referring to her childhood home which inspired one of her best-loved and most personal songs), “and this is my first time back in the Midlands.” She went on to explain how the house move gave her a chance to look through a lot of her old things, which led to some of her newest writing.
Her gothic love song Die Happy was up next and provided perhaps the most spine-chilling moments of the set, set off by some painfully beautiful piano chords. This is probably one of Holly’s strongest songs, in what is already a solid repertoire, and her stripped-back rendition anchored that position. For Falling Asleep at the Wheel and Kissing In Swimming Pools, the audience singalong was much more audible – but then, Holly treated us to a completely fresh song.
In her long introduction to the brand-new offering, she explained how she felt this was her most vulnerable and “embarrassing” one yet, focusing on her experience of being a woman, in the music industry and generally.
“We have to work so hard – it can be exhausting,” she said, emphasising the importance of mutual support and not falling into the trap of viewing other women negatively.
This new one was Beauty Pageant and it turned out to be superb: a moving and timeless classic built on an instantly compelling rising sequence of chords, sprinkled with unusual cadences and featuring some wonderful high notes which Holly hit perfectly despite the misgivings she shared with us before starting.
"Not in the Midlands any more... I'll click my heels and wish for home... One day I'll make you love me; come on and make me pretty."
Her newest material is fully Holly but firmly embraces her multiple influences and the experience that can only come with time.
The stage became bathed in red light and Holly took up a similarly-coloured guitar: that could only mean fan favourite Scarlett was next. This was an inevitable and welcome part of the set but had to be stopped when a fan was taken ill. After a five-minute hiatus, Holly returned to the stage and was quickly persuaded to start the song again from the top. After a nostalgic and moving Cruel World, we heard two more new songs. First was Lucy: “a song for those who find it hard to go out sometimes… It can be freeing to surrender to the fact that everything is chaos” - another beautifully written song with some heart-rending chord progressions and intense, pinpoint lyrics. Then, White Noise, written in Nashville and showing subtle signs of that influence – an interesting combination with Holly’s hazy, alt-pop approach.
Friendly Fire, Deep End and Dive were Holly’s final offerings, a solid trio of familiar songs which cemented her connection with her audience. All were performed with a kind of knowing and grateful intimacy. There’s never a sense with Holly that she takes anything for granted. Every time she returns to her home city, she has matured and become more well-known and more established, but she clearly remains grateful and genuinely pleased to be on a stage singing her music to us.
As she opens another new chapter of her career, with some of her best ever songs ready to be unleashed on the world, Nottingham will always be glad to give her a home.
Holly Humberstone performed at The Level on 21st March 2026. Her new album Die Happy is released on 10th April.
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