GRACE VANDERWAAL AT THEATRE OF LIVING ARTS IN PHILADELPHIA
Grace VanderWaal recently set out to tour the U.S. on her “UR So Beautiful Tour” with support from Patrick Martin starting in August, and the tour is starting to wind down with only a couple dates left. Boasting several sold out shows on this tour, the 15-year-old singer/songwriter played one of them at the Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, an impressive feat for someone of her age. She played a seventeen-song set and had her audience captivated for every minute of it.
Opening the show was singer/songwriter Patrick Martin. Coming on stage sporting a pair of red-heeled boots, Patrick Martin stole the hearts of fans in the crowd not only with his look, but also with his impressive vocal melodies. The crowd bopped along to his set and he even had a couple girls in the front row screaming for him throughout.
When Grace VanderWaal took the stage (barefoot of course), I couldn’t help but stop to take a minute to look at the audience around me. The majority of the audience was entirely younger children and their parents. It really warmed my heart to know that for many of these kids, this could’ve been their first concert or their first real musical interest. To see young girls who could barely reach the barricade at the front screaming and singing along the entire set was something truly magical. Grace bounced back and forth across the stage to make sure she was paying attention to fans on both sides of the venue, never favoring one side over the other. She sang through crowd favorites such as “UR So Beautiful”, “Moonlight”, and “I Don’t Know My Name”. She played her ukulele, the instrument most associate her with, but also had a backing band, which allowed her to put the ukulele down and step away from the microphone stand every so often. She also played a couple of tracks off her next upcoming release, each time telling the audience that she was just so impatient that she had to start playing them. The mood was kept light, bubbly, and fun as attendees screamed and shouted the songs they knew and loved so much.
Grace VanderWaal played a fantastic set and has a truly unique voice. If you closed your eyes, you would probably have no idea that she was so young because of it. I think that in this way it’s also nice to see that she could appeal to an older audience as well. If the chance pops up to see her, please take it. After getting the chance to see her perform and seeing how well she’s already doing onstage, it makes me excited to see how she is going to grow as an artist moving forward.
Nicole DiBenedetto is a photographer based out of New Jersey. She likes making new friends and meeting new people so catch her out in the pit and say hi!