It was a warm summer evening when Noah Cyrus touched down at London’s stunning Islington Assembly Hall in celebration of her latest full-length record, ‘I WANT MY LOVED ONES TO GO WITH ME’, which had been released the week prior. Enveloped in countless bouquets of flowers, reminiscent of plant nurseries on Valentine’s Day, Cyrus walked on stage together with her four-piece band, donning an olive-green dress and welcoming the excited crowd with a winning smile.
Jumping straight into the ethereal “I Saw The Mountains”, the beauty of the 25-year-old’s new album immediately showed, highlighting the hints of Americana, folk, and indie influences woven into the new soundscape of country music that Cyrus has created for herself. Accompanied by two acoustic guitars, a pedal steel guitar and a single violin, the singer’s honey-smooth vocals fell like waves upon her captivated audience, which clung onto her every word as the setlist went through the entire record, song after song.
Hailing from the epicentre of country music, Nashville, Tennessee, Cyrus took time to tell tales of her family and the lineage of musical greatness she comes from, thanking them for allowing her to make music to heal herself and others with it. It was then, also, that the very special guest of the evening was introduced and brought onto the stage to tumultuous applause and many raised phones to record the unmissable moment – her father, Billy Ray Cyrus. The two embraced before Billy Ray took up his own guitar to sing ‘With You’ and ‘Noah (Stand Still)’ together with his daughter – the latter brimming with emotion as it came to Noah in a time when she struggled with addiction and remembered her father always telling her to “stand still” whenever she didn’t know where to go in life.
A couple of goodbye bows by Billy Ray – and a humorous feather incident involving his hat – later, it was again Noah left alone with her band on the blooming stage, as she said, “The show’s not over yet! It’s time for some Oasis. I’m trying to go and see them while I’m here, actually”, much to the crowd’s delight, before the familiar sounds of ‘Champagne Supernova’ rang on. As with all of her music, Cyrus made even the iconic track her own, her vocal nature speaking volumes to the heart and soul of the young singer.
Coming to the end of the night, Cyrus raced through her biggest hits, such as the heartfelt ‘Lonely’, the gospel-like ‘I Got So High That I Saw Jesus’ and the earnest ‘The End Of Everything’ before the absolute fan-favourite ‘July’ tied everything up in a shimmering bow. It was an evening of celebration and once-in-a-lifetime moments that blessed the historic grounds of the famous Islington venue and proved that Noah Cyrus has fully stepped into her own identity with her latest masterful album – and that she is here to stay.
Written by Laura Weingrill // photography by Hannah Khymych
GEM Magazine 