Show Review & Photos: Ella Mai @ WaMu Theater

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Ella Mai @ WaMu Theater – 7/16/26

Show Review by Louise Geri

Photos by David Conger

Ella Mai – photo by David Conger

Before WaMu Theater had filled with Ella Mai’s majestic voice, you could see the effort she’d put into the Do You Still Love Me? Tour by taking a quick walking tour of the venue. Fans posed in a Mai-themed phone booth, collected goodie bags at the Amplified Access entrance, and formed a long line at the merch booth. The crowd smelled of perfume and cologne.

Following sets from openers Girlfriend and Ama, a loud boom and synths filled the venue. Many phones rose as stagehands pulled the curtains open, revealing Mai sitting on a chaise longue. The lighting was sensual. An intoxicated couple next to me swayed, and I could more clearly see vape mist coming out of various attendees’ mouths closer to the front. I smiled, enjoying a more free-form concert experience than I’m used to. Mai began with, “There Goes My Heart”, a song that would suit a Euphoria-style party scene.

The energy shifted as blue lights made the scene optimistic and cheery. Mai rose from the chaise longue and swayed her hips to “100”. The lighting more clearly showed the stage setup, including drums in a leafy enclosure. A shrill keyboard sound played as Mai questioned the crowd, “Do you still love me?” She pranced across stage left while singing “My Mind”.

Mai cycled through throwbacks, prompting cheers as she shook her butt while doing a lasso motion and danced with both background vocalists. The venue scent got smoky, a kid sat on a parent’s shoulders, and a clap led by the background vocalists caught on briefly.

Ella Mai – photo by David Conger

Mai asked the crowd, “Do we have any lovers in here tonight?”, cuing peachy lighting for “This Is”. She explained, before “Not Another Love Song”, that this is her first tour in three years. The crowd screamed as Mai danced with her whole body and gave the electric guitarist a moment to shine, prompting a band introduction. Whispering vocals ensued after Mai asked, “Are my ladies in here tonight?” She launched into “Shot Clock”, which the crowd adored.

She amped up her hand motions, making for great audience interactions, during throwbacks “DFMU” (2022) and “10,000 Hours” (2016). The intro to the former prompted a young female attendee near me to scream and do a happy dance. The lights went dark for “Naked” (2018), leaving Mai lit by only a large circular light. Phones came out and flashlights were lit upon her request.

Everyone left the stage as a spoken word interlude played, discussing how passionate love can be misconstrued negatively. A telephone booth was wheeled out. As Mai re-entered the stage, lights flickered and a clock ticked. She donned a blue minidress. Standing confidently, she sang “Luckiest Man”, telling a partner how lucky he is to be with her.

The phone booth rang and lit up, prompting her to enter and pick up a call from a friend, saying over a speaker that some men need to be put in their place. She waltzed in and out of the booth as she sang a couple Do You Still Love Me? Tracks. The backing vocalists had solos for the final song, “Outside”.

Younger girls near the back of the crowd rocked to “Somebody’s Son” as Mai sang to her electric guitarist. Mai sat with her background vocalists, swaying to “First Day”, and the show began to drag. It felt like the lantern scene from Tangled.

Ella Mai – photo by David Conger

Acoustic guitar opened the sadder toned “Chasing Circles”. Mai sat on the chaise longue again. Fans flicked their hands to the “No Angels” lyric, “We should be grateful!” She lifted her hand to silence the crowd as she transitioned into “How”. The percussion built again to assert power, and the crowd got riled up when she yelled, “Seattle, let’s go!”

The highlight of the show was “Boo’d Up”. Before Mai began, she addressed the crowd, “Hold one second, I was informed someone got engaged in the audience while we were singing ‘This Is’.” She invited the engaged couple onstage to waltz during the song.

The show closed happily with “Trip” and “Little Things”. Mai expressed her gratitude to the crowd, and attendees filed out into the glistening SoDo night.

Ella Mai – photo by David Conger

Show Review & Photos: Sierra Hull @ Northwest Tune-Up Bike and Music Festival

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Sierra Hull @ Northwest Tune-Up Bike and Music Festival – 7/11/26
Show Review & Photos by Louise Geri

Sierra Hull – photo by Louise Geri

The audience at Sierra Hull’s performance at Northwest Tune-Up Bike and Music Festival was a far step from what I’m used to in the bluegrass scene, as someone who didn’t listen to much bluegrass before moving to Nashville. The Puget Sound was the backdrop to a massive Bellingham festival fairground filled with girls in jorts, kids running around with bubble wands, food trucks lining the lot, and perhaps strangest of all, massive man-made dust hills filled with dirt bikers. Hull said what everyone was thinking during her set, “I didn’t quite know what we were walking into, as a bike festival!” She giggled, referring to the hills as “itty-bitties”.

Hull wore a bright red jumpsuit, bandana, large shades, and cowboy boots. She smirked and smiled awkwardly and endearingly as she swayed playing her mandolin. She began her set with the opening track to her latest album A Tip Toe High Wire, “Boom.” The song featured the first of many mandolin solos. She spent a lot of time throughout her set dancing alongside fiddler Avery Merritt, whom the crowd adored. She played her 2016 track “Compass,” leaning back and raising her eyebrows at one point in a mandolin solo to indicate a particularly high note. A stronger beat kicked off “Envy,” a 2020 release. The song ebbed and flowed, featuring satisfying staccato fiddle moments. A strong smell of salt entered the audience, reminding me how far I am from my landlocked sea salt-less place of bluegrass discovery. A fan filmed a 360-degree view of the audience rocking out.

Sierra Hull & guitarist Shaun Richardson – photo by Louise Geri

Hull introduced her band, featuring Shaun Richardson on acoustic guitar, Erik Coveney on “ze bass, the big bass,” Mark “Goose” Raudabaugh on drums and of course, Avery Merritt on fiddle.

Instrumental interludes were interspersed between songs, giving every member of her band time to shine. Fans would whoop as fiddle solos would pick up or when the instrument would let out a particularly brain-scratching squeal. Hull would then smirk, giggle, and tap her black and white boots, walking from Merritt to whichever band member had the next solo. Some interludes leaned more in a Celtic direction, making me feel like I’d entered the Disney movie Brave. A group of girls clapped to the beat during one song, and I was pleased to even see grown men bouncing up and down. One yelled, ‘You guys are awesome!”, a compliment Hull returned.

When the instruments entered after the stripped start of “Wings of the Dawn,” I gasped. It sounded majestic. The fiddle parts were incredible, and the bass brought the song to a strong close. Richardson did background vocals as Hull embarked on a cover of the 1930s Delmore Brothers song “Blues Stay Away From Me.” The two stood close together as they each played solos on their respective instruments. A creaking sound began, possibly coming from the fiddle, as Hull carried on with a cover of the Tears for Fears song “Mad World.” Merritt joined Richardson in background vocals. Lots of cameras came out, and a stench of weed and beer grew – ominously fitting for such a sad song. The drums brought the song to a miraculous ending, and Hull took a dramatic step backward as it closed. She yelled, “Thank you all so much!”

Sierra Hull – photo by Louise Geri

“Queen of Hearts / Royal Tea” followed. The prominent scent on the fairgrounds changed once again, this time to that of baked goods. Merritt briefly switched to acoustic guitar. At the end of the song, Hull took a sip of what fittingly looked like tea instead of going for the water bottle she’d been previously nursing. As her set neared its end, attendees were reminded of the traditional nature of bluegrass when everyone except Hull left the stage while she performed a lengthy mandolin solo. Each band member re-entered one by one, until they were standing in a line formation, feeling like the typical image of a folk band.  As she took on “Black River,” the fiddle was wistful and the other instruments turned rougher, reminding me of the feel of Keith Urban’s 2009 Defying Gravity album. The set finished with this poppier sound. Hull graciously motioned to her band members and thanked the audience before they all left the stage. Many attendees whom I doubted had been previously familiar with the bluegrass subgenre screamed and danced.

Once the stage was empty, I turned to my friend who, on the drive up from Seattle, had excitedly exclaimed that she had no idea what to expect from her first time hearing bluegrass. I gave her a “What did you think?” look, and she approvingly informed me, “I liked that!”

You can buy tickets to see Sierra Hull live here. Washington state alert: Hull returns to the Northwest with a date supporting Dave Matthews at the Gorge on September 6th.

Sierra Hull – photos by Louise Geri

Atmosphere @ Northwest Tune-Up Bike and Music Festival – photo by Louise Geri

Corrosion of Conformity, Whores, and Crobot at the Crocodile

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Corrosion of Conformity, Whores, and Crobot played a metal worshipers dream bill in front of a sold-out Crocodile in Seattle Thursday night. While COC was the headliner and clearly the main draw, all three bands delivered solid sets that met with full throated approval from the diverse multigenerational audience.

While I go back a ways with both COC and Whores, this was my first time experiencing Crobot. The Pennsylvania 4 piece calls their sound ‘dirty groove rock’ and I wouldn’t take exception to that description. Back in the day we would have labeled them ‘hard rock’ and called it good. Front dude Brandon Yeagley is the band’s center of attention with his Steven Tyler meets Chris Cornell slinky dance, seemingly effortless command of impressive upper register metal yowls, and playful exhortations to the audience to keep the party firing at all costs. Yeagley and his bandmates won the audience over from the drop and were rewarded with a commendable ovation at the conclusion of their set.

I last caught Atlanta’s Whores at Substation some years back and was suitably impressed by their uncompromising wall o’ feedback assault and the sheer brutality of their of their stage presence. Having experienced the fist to the face that is Whores live show, I wasn’t entirely sure how their trip would be received, sandwiched at they were between two more conventional metal acts. My concerns proved to be unfounded as they amped crowd was onboard from the first loud notes of their cathartic set. Guitarist Christian Lambach produces wave upon wave of insanely loud feedback and is matched blow for blow by bass player Douglas Jennings Barrett and drummer Donnie Adkinson. The band wastes precious little time with the usual ‘are you ready to rock?!?!’ stage patter, preferring to focus on delivering a blistering, bordering on overwhelming sonic blast. I truly love this band and the crowd seemed to share my joy.

Corrosion of Conformity has been at it since 1982 and while lead guitarist Woody Weatherman is technically the sole remaining member of the band’s first lineup, guitarist and vocalist Pepper Keenan has been onboard since the late 80’s and is widely considered a key ingredient in the band’s most beloved (and what I would consider ‘classic’) lineup. COC leans hard on the foundations forged by metal forefathers such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest while injecting their own touch of punk attitude and aggression to add an appealing edge to the proceedings. They are currently touring behind their excellent new long player ‘Good God/Baad Man’ and mixed new tunes from that album with COC staples such as ‘Albatross’ and ‘Clean My Wounds’. I crossed paths with Weatherman before the show and was struck by how excited and passionate he remains 40 plus years down the heavy metal highway. Watching these now elder statesmen of heavy metal bring life and enthusiasm to their extensive catalog onstage at the Crocodile was tremendously satisfying and inspirational.

Photos: Boys Like Girls w/IDKHow & Arrows In Action @ the Moore

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Boys Like Girls w/IDKHow & Arrows In Action @ the Moore – 5/10/26
Photos by Charitie Myers

Boys Like Girls‘ Martin Johnson – photo by Charitie Myers

Boys Like Girls, the great rock quartet from Massachusetts, performed a Seattle date for the spring 2026 leg of their Soundtrack of Your Life” tour. It’s been 20 years since their debut (wait, what????) and to commemorate, they played two albums: the 2006 self-titled debut and their second release, Love Drunk. How cool is that to do two albums in their entirety? The tour kicks up again in August, by the way. With them were IDKHow (I Don’t Know How but They Found Me,) plus Arrows in Action, who have their own headlining tour starting in September. The October date in Seattle is already sold out. You can join the waiting list for that show here.

Boys Like Girls – photos by Charitie Myers

Dallon Weekes of IDKHow – photo by Charitie Myers

IDKHow – photos by Charitie Myers

Victor Viramontes-Pattison from Arrows in Action – photo by Charitie Myers

Arrows in Action – photos by Charitie Myers

Review: Bebe Stockwell’s Volume 1

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Bebe Stockwell‘s Volume 1
Review by Louise Geri

Bebe Stockwell in the Volume 1 photoshoot – photo by Katherine Goguen

The most shocking thing about Bebe Stockwell’s second album Volume 1 might not be her bold claim that when love is right, you just know it, or her preference for the more temperate New England climate over the always warm Los Angeles climate. Rather, your biggest surprise might be learning that Stockwell is 24 years old.

Stockwell’s voice provided great company as I sewed while listening to the album for the first time. Because of her lower-pitched voice leaning surprisingly far into classical singing style for a commercial artist, I automatically assumed she was middle-aged.

But no, Stockwell is just really good at placing the Joni-Mitchell-Joan-Baez-Noah-Kahan Americana-folk sound into the mouth of an old soul. The opening track, “When You Know, ”reminds me of “The Story” by Brandi Carlile, “Whole Lotta Little” by Emily Ann Roberts, and “California” by Joni Mitchell. It feels like a letter from a wise elder to whom you ask for advice on whether you’re marrying the right person.

Bebe Stockwell playing Bumbershoot last August, – photo by Kirk Stauffer for Guitar Girl Magazine

“Wild Love,” upon opening, makes me think of the Highwaymen. Following a humming intro that could be construed as either ominous or adventurous, Stockwell sings about a lover reminding her of an animal – albeit a slightly inappropriate one, “You took the lead then showed me your teeth, said the sex we have is incredible.” Music in the Americana genre is known for being the home of a lot of protest music, particularly in the 60s and 70s. In a way, this slightly rash line pays homage to the Beat generation rejection of politeness culture.

Stockwell brings Wesley Schultz in for “Ant Farm.” The lyricism is stunning, “I was jealous of the dreams that kept you alive.” The song is full of nostalgia for a rural childhood love, reminiscent of many old country songs.

“Hard to Find,” while sweet and harmonious, is a little too happy-go-lucky. When the chorus kicks in, driven by oohs, I shamefully find myself imagining a Windex commercial. The lyrics are not lacking, however. “Undress my secrets, kiss my ugly” is a lovely moment of personification.

I’m transported to Noah Kahan’s “Maine” and “Stick Season” upon hearing the intro of “New England Regret.” Stockwell mourns her upbringing in the northeastern US. Her discussion of wholesome small-town details like everyone knowing each other’s names screams Stars Hollow. It makes me laugh, as someone west coast-born and raised, when she understandably frowns upon the passive aggression common in my neck of the woods.

“Going to the Country” feels like a moment out of Kacey Musgraves’ 2024 Deeper Well album. Stockwell has the energy of a wood nymph, “I’m sick and tired of feeling like nature doesn’t exist.” The song joins modern ways of life with the human need to be grounded, using, “My job, it is remote” to justify leaving for somewhere quieter.

Bebe Stockwell playing Showbox SoDo last October, photo by Kirk Stauffer for Guitar Girl Magazine

Stockwell leans into pop-country with “Adeline,” sharing a general topic with “Jolene” by Dolly Parton, and similarly being in a minor key. The song even contains a hint of bluegrass (high lonesome harmonies, perhaps?) The lyricism is blunt and strong, “You don’t love me like you used to, though you say you do/tell me that and look me in the eyes.” She almost wails “Adeline” as she riffs the name in despair over the possibility of another woman.

Singer/songwriter Grace Enger, known in the Gracie Abrams-sphere of pop, joins Stockwell for the closer, “Look At Us Now.”Enger’s more commercial voice provides an interesting complement to Stockwell’s classical. I wish the entire song would keep up the more stable melody of the pre-chorus, but Stockwell instead continues the ooh-ing in the choruses, which has lost the power it held in earlier songs, having already appeared in “Hard to Find” and “Going to the Country.” Thankfully, this is a genre where lyricism is prioritized and therefore effective no matter your melodic preferences. The hook (which is just the title) is heartwarming. The final verse touches on the dangerous humans-are-machines mentality, “Oh, tired Sophie, do you have to work two jobs? Your back’s all tied in knots, I swear to God you work too hard.” It’s a sweet way to close the record.

Volume 1 is the perfect title for this album. There’s no groundbreaking message, merely a feeling. It feels like a collection of old folk tales with the overarching theme of a foggy morning in the rolling hills, sipping tea and watching goats roam a pasture. Listen to Volume 1 by Bebe Stockwell on all streaming platforms now.


Bebe Stockwell in the Volume 1 photoshoot – photo by Katherine Goguen