London’s Suki Waterhouse and Nashville’s Own Bully Play to a Sold Out Venue
As soon as tickets were available for this event, I jumped all over them. I was a fan of Suki Waterhouse ever since her acting performance in Daisy Jones & The Six as the keyboard player Karen Sirko. Add Bully to the bill, and you have yourself a very powerful force of creativity and talent. They are both rising stars, though maybe on different levels, the fact remains that you are going to be hearing these names in music for years to come.
Suki has already had success with acting and music but after opening for Taylor Swift on a leg of The Eras Tour there is still no ceiling for this Londoner. Waterhouse revealed on her Instagram earlier this year that “the last time I was at Wembley I was dancing my ass off at the Reputation tour!”
“Never did I think the next time I’d be here would be opening for my favourite artist with my friends and family in the crowd 🥹,” she continued. “Thank you @taylorswift for this once in a lifetime opportunity to perform in my beloved London and for the unwavering support in my own journey as an artist.”
I was very happy to see lots of Bully fans at the show too. The crowd was geared to lay eyes and dance with Suki as the main range of concert goers were 19–25-year-old females donned in glitz and fluffy jackets. Alicia Bognanno is the fiercely talented frontwoman of Nashville-based rock band Bully. She is unapologetic with her songwriting and her vocals are talons that leap off her lips and shred sharply on the mass of fans that are beginning to catch on to the searingly honest singer.
She appeared onstage nonchalantly in a t-shirt and jeans. The same set up as if they were rehearsing in their garage, but this time the DIY rockers were at the historic Ryman Auditorium. It’s a far cry from the backyard keg parties of early beginnings and a lot closer to headlining those large venues. The moniker of “Bully” is said to be a nod to her own inner critic. She works hard and she wants her message to be clear, so she takes the time to make each word count and for the production to be on point. She writes, records, mixes, produces and engineers all her creations. Music is her catharsis.
Tonight, she let everyone into her head, as she ripped through a preciously manicure set list of slamming tunes. To be in Nashville alongside with so much talent must be daunting and Alicia handles it with poise. At least that’s how we perceive it, because that’s how she presents it.
A highlight of the show was Alicia bringing out Soccer Mommy singer Sophie Allison, for her latest single, ‘Lose You’. In a press release, Bognanno said of the collaborative effort: “When ‘Lose You’ came about it was the first time I’ve considered having someone else sing on a Bully song. I love Sophie’s voice and have always admired everything she does so to me it was a no brainer. Watching her soar out of the Nashville scene and dominate indie music worldwide has been a joy.” You could clearly see the passion, love and respect that these two amazing women have for each other as they performed the track under the lights of the former Nashville church. Their voices melted and danced together with a singular breath. This wasn’t just pushed together and forced as a must, but rather it was a heartfelt collaborative of clear and divine vision that worked immaculately.
Bully wowed everyone that was there to be sure. Alicia’s enraged and piercing vocals caught the attention of a mass of females looking for solace in a voice that they could continue to fight under. Bully is a staple of power-rock in Nashville and will continue to be that bastion of light that we need in our music.
There is a Chapelle Roan themed intermission full of song and dance and arm movements that I couldn’t keep up with, until the house lights are repressed. Suki Waterhouse needs no introduction as she appeared -out of a side stage produced fog -with the crowd immediately launching to their boot donned feet. Her eyes are shaded with thick black sunglasses and her shoulders scarved with a long lace cape that lingers to the floor. She is fashion forward artist that summons the stylistic mellifluence of Stevie Nicks.
The self-monikered “Model, Actress, Whatever” singer was in Nashville for her 25-date Sparklemuffin Tour. It’s a run that follows the release of her sophomore record that was released in September. The record is quickly becoming an indie pop staple: Memoir of a Sparklemuffin.
The backdrop for the stage was built to resemble a forest complete with greenery that included bushes, trees, luscious vines, and painted spider webs. She had been talking about this show for months in interviews and on social media. She was billing The Ryman concert as an almost like Christmas-come-early type event. “The Nashville show, oh my God,” she said. “That’s going to be one of the shows that will be a huge stand out for me, personally.” You could see the joy in her face as she and her group started off with ‘Gateway Drug’, which is also the first song off the new album. The tune begins with spacious chords and mournful vocals and builds to a classical crunch of garage guitar. She has us hooked. The chorus reads: ‘Let me be your gateway drug/ I can show you things/ Get a little high off my love/ Think it’s what you need’. She is absolutely what this crowd needs and wants on a Thursday night.
The album’s title, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin refers to a colorful breed of jumping spider. It is also an on-point metaphor for her musical persona, which is unabashed, iridescent, and not afraid to bare fangs from time to time if needed. I love her voice, I love her style, I love her message of being yourself no matter what and the music lets you ride high in a cloud of confidence.
To describe Waterhouse’s style in singularity would bog one me down for too long. I’ll say this- she has incredible vocal dexterity. She slides comfortably between ‘60s pop, ’70s hippie jams, ‘90s alternative and contemporary alt-rock. The show flows as such too. Suki dances as she sings, her arms often flowing like there are ghostly gust of wind flowing into the theater. The only winds generated could only be generated by the shouting of the crowd. Her smile is infectious. Her performance is flawless and it only gets better when she brings out Ashe to join her. The Nashville-based artist otherwise known as Ashlyn Willson, had found huge commercial success in what she once called “the biggest season of her life and career” thanks to the crazy success of breakout song “Moral of the Story” and albums Ashlyn in 2021 and Rae in 2022. Then she walked away, feeling burnt out and exhausted, but Suki Waterhouse helped relight that spark and here they were singing ‘Pushing Daisies’. It’s a song that they put together as a duo in 2024.
Waterhouse sang 16 songs plus two encore additions. No one sat down the entire time. The holidays are mostly joyous, but not for everyone. These moments in time where we all grasp onto something special, even for just a few hours is something to behold and appreciate. Go out there and support live music and hold each other up rather than punching down.
Leave a Reply