FROM THE FRONT ROW
// Finn Askew // The Courtyard Theatre // First-Ever Headline Show // 10-11-21 //
Earlier this month, London’s Courtyard Theatre in Hoxton saw Finn Askew step on stage for his first-ever headline show. The audience at the sold-out event were already pumped up from an electric opening performance from Downtown Kayoto, and the packed-out crowd gave it their all from start to finish at this intimate show.
Entering the stage and opening his headline set with 2020 release, ‘Same Old Love’, Askew was in disbelief at the energy from the crowd. Fresh off of huge festival stages such as Reading and Leeds and Alt Ldn and opening sets for Mimi Webb and Holly Humberstone, Askew expressed how grateful he was to finally be playing a show of his own. “It’s been a dream of mine to hear people sing back to me, I’ve been doing a lot of support acts, it’s lovely, don’t get me wrong, but no-one knows who the fuck I am”, the 20-year-old exclaimed to the excitable audience.
Pairing his unique, raspy voice with beautiful falsettos, the Somerset-born artist held the audience’s attention for the entire 12 song set. The “Roses” singer performed all six songs from his brand new ‘Tokyo’ EP, including his first live performances of ‘Grey’ and ‘Daffodil’, which sounded just as great live as the studio versions. Askew also played an acoustic version of the Electronic collaborative song, ‘Feather’, which was a great spin on the original.
The ‘Peach’ singer had the young and intoxicated audience singing along for the entirety of his hour-long set, which saw some concert-goers searching up lyrics as he performed, just so they could join in. The self-proclaimed stylist had sweat dripping down his chin as he played guitar and bounced to the beat, refusing to take the beanie off his head despite the heat from the spotlight on him as the sole occupant of the stage.
Although there was a unique staging setup, which saw an armchair on the left-hand side of the stage and a child’s bed and accessories on the right, it would have been improved with more lighting and visual elements to complement the upbeat songs. We hope to see a few more visual aspects added to his sets as he grows, but in the meantime, this young artist did a great job of holding the 200 strong crowd on his own.
There was a surreal feeling knowing that Finn Askew would not be performing in such intimate venues for long, due to his fast-growing following, meaning fans stuck around in hopes of an encore long after Askew had left the stage; many already seeming eager to see him again. This is just the beginning for the talented up-and-comer and we can’t wait to see him headline larger shows across the country! Check out Finn Askew’s latest EP, “Tokyo” HERE and follow him on social media to keep up to date with upcoming shows!