Audiences have been seeking good vibes and they found more than enough when Em Beihold’s tour visited Crescent Ballroom this week. The singer-songwriter is coming off a stretch of massively successful opening runs for acts like Lewis Capaldi and King Princess and her Maybe Life is Good Tour is her very first headlining venture. With the reaction present in the Phoenix crowd, we’re more than certain she’ll be back.
Opening the night was South African prodigy Will Linley and his energetic backing band. When Atlas spoke with Linley years ago about his debut songs, we never could have predicted being in that room with him on Tuesday night for what was an explosion of positive energy. At only 22 years old, Linley has already found massive success online and is now taking his music to the people and Phoenix was over the moon welcoming him to town.
He flirted cheekily with his audience throughout his direct support set, bantering with fans and winning the hearts of those who hadn’t heard of him before walking through the door. From his ruminations about his future love on “Gracie” to debuting an unreleased song, fans at Crescent were utterly charmed by his sincerity and genuine talent. He succeeded in getting everyone off their feet for “Last Call” and left the stage in an avalanche of applause.
Em Beihold took the stage with a huge grin to kick things off with “Roller Coasters Make Me Sad”- the perfect entrance to a set full of relatable lyrics and impossibly catchy melodies. Beihold spoke at length between songs about the importance of erasing the stigmas surrounding mental health, a topic she covers in many of her songs. The audience did their part to sing along as loudly as possible and shout sweet words at the stage throughout the night.
Beihold was featured on Stephen Sanchez’s viral single “Until I Found You” and she performed a soft cover of the song midway through her set to the delight of the fans. She also found time to slow things down with a few piano tracks before ending her set on an energetic note with “Maybe Life Is Good” and her first big single, “Numb Little Bug”. Beihold’s fanbase is clearly very dedicated to the singer and her reciprocation of those feelings was evident in her interactions with everyone in the room- she really drew the audience into her set and made them part of the band. This lineup was the perfect breather to start another week and we’re just as excited to have everyone back in Arizona as soon as possible.
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Story and photos by Olivia Khiel
