Kings Elliot’s Enchanting Opening at Newport Music Hall
Walking on stage with her striking blue hair and a voice as smooth as honey, Kings Elliot swiftly captured the hearts of the Columbus crowd.
Kings Elliot opened the show for Stephen Sanchez on February 23rd, at Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio. A 20-year-old Swiss-born singer based in London, performing with keyboardist and musician Garrett Schwenk, she first started releasing music in November of 2020. Since then, she has quickly gained quite the following, completing her first headline show in March of 2022 and now opening for the first half of Sanchez’s US tour. She has been signed with Universal Music Group since 2021 and has released 2 majorly successful EPs to date.
Her debut song, “I’m Getting Tired of Me”, received incredible success and she continued to gain a following through the next few years. Her first EP Chaos In My Court, released in 2021, garnered her a lot of attention, and her second EP Bored Of The Circus released in late 2022, established her sound for good. Kings Elliot’s fanbase is widespread, sharing their love for her from across the globe. Her fans have fallen in love with her melancholy heartbreaking lyrics, slower yet upbeat sound as well as her melodic and powerful voice. She is very interactive with the fanbase online, making for a sweet relationship between her and the people that love her music, even recently getting matching tattoos with some of her fans.
*All photos by Aanika Bhatia
When she walked on stage, the first striking thing about her was her vibrant blue hair, but the audience’s attention was quickly captured once she started singing her first song, “I’m Getting Tired of Me”. Her vocals were beautiful, showcasing the incredible range and control of her voice during most of the songs she sang. An incredible aspect of her entire set was the lighting, brightening the stage with a carefully chosen color that matched the tone and theme of each song. The stage was a wonderful purple as she started her set, setting the mood for the night.
The next song, “Cry, Baby, Cry” was equally powerful, with even the audience joining along by the end of the song. She has this ability to mesmerize her audience through the lyrics, singing about such personal yet relatable topics with such comfort, making the audience truly feel the passion behind her music. She sang her heart out as bright red lights covered the entire stage. “Till I Die”, the song that followed, garnered some of the most engagement from the crowd, her vocals impressing and her lyrics capturing the hearts of the audience. Perhaps one of the sweetest moments throughout her entire set was during “The Outsider” when she taught a specific lyric to the audience and soulfully sang it with them. The lyrics “I know I don’t belong here, belong here, with you” roared inside the venue, as the crowd happily engaged with her performance.
In between songs, she would briefly mention a little about the meanings behind each song she was performing as well as how important each song was to her. She was incredible at engaging with the crowd and making everyone feel included, with her stage presence quite strong as if she was born to be on stage.
After a small intermission in which she introduced her keyboardist and spoke to the crowd, she played my favorite song of hers “Ashes By The Morning”. Her delivery was incredible, resulting in myself and several others tearing up throughout the performance. The vocals of the song were the most powerful of the night, with the audience cheering her on in between lyrics as she belted out some of the most heartbreaking and relatable lyrics. The performance was haunting, in the best way possible. The piano performance by keyboardist Schwenk during the song was especially touching as well, marking this song as one of the best of the night.
One of the last heartwarming and interactive moments of the night was when she asked the crowd if they could turn on their phone flashlights and all scream her self-described tagline “sick puppy,” which is the name of her fanbase, as decided by all her fans. The crowd enthusiastically obliged and she filmed the moment, later uploading it on her social media to remember forever. Following were the last two songs of her set, “Lost Again” and “Call Me A Dreamer.” “Lost Again,” the latest single she created as a theme for The Callisto Protocol, was more upbeat and dramatic than the rest, once again displaying her vocal abilities. The performance also included the most impressive lighting of the night, a combination of blue, red, and pink complimenting her perfectly. Ending her opening act with her sweet & dark lullaby-like song named “Call Me A Dreamer” was the best goodbye she could have shared with the audience. Everyone swayed to the music as she delivered one last incredible performance.
Kings Elliot’s talent is remarkable and her passion for music makes her an incredibly powerful performer. I am so excited to see what the future has in store for her and I dearly hope she will come to Columbus again!
Listen to Kings Elliot’s recent single released on January 18th, “Lost Again,” here!
You can find more of Aanika’s pictures from the show in our gallery.