Orla Gartland made her way across the Atlantic for her North America Tour stop in Washington DC on November 9th. The Irish singer/songwriter was ready for a night full of good vibes and a real connection with the crowd. The small, intimate venue set the perfect tone for a memorable night, where Orla’s emotional musical journey would have the opportunity to reach every single person in attendance.
The opener Emma Harner, took on the always difficult role of warming up the crowd. Fortunately for her, she has some truly remarkable vocals and really got a solid interaction out of the crowd early on. Having only three songs officially released on streaming platforms, a lot of what we got to hear was unreleased music in progress. Much like what would come later in the night, her soft indie melodies would truly capture the attention of everyone who gave just a short moment of their time to listen. It was an extremely solid performance from one of the newest musicians on the scene.
The flower faced Orla kicked off the night with “Forever Kiss Your Face” and “Codependency,” a couple of high energy, heavy dance tracks that really upped the tempo for the previously mellow crowd. As she encouraged everyone to get jumping, it quite literally felt like an earthquake below you at the venue. While there would be a number of slower, somber indie tracks to come, Orla wanted to make sure everyone was in the zone before we dialed it back.
As we reached a little deeper into the set, my favorite sad song made an appearance. “Madison”, a record written about the trauma and storytelling she gave to a previous therapist, really digs into what makes Orla such a special artist. Her openness and connection with pretty much every aspect of life, allows her to create a connection between herself and her fans. As she sings “I told you every single secret and you sat there silent,” you can’t help but sense that uncertainty of human emotions. The song questions her therapist’s actual thoughts on her as a person — “Do you ever think about me” — wondering if they are able to truly separate work from their own personal feelings. I think it has a lot of depth and internal dialogue, a narrative that continues to make me back this as one of her best songs.
Orla introduced “Mine” to bring everyone back down to earth, as this is debatably the most solemn track on the setlist. While there was no longer a lot of movement, this was the time for herself and the audience to truly make a connection. The song was done solo and that is exactly how it should be. All the composition allows for time to think with nothing but the light strings between each moment of the story. By the end you could probably hear a pin drop in the sold out venue.
Don’t fret however! It is time for, and I quote Orla, “the most jarring energy change” you may ever experience. Yep, it is the WHEEL OF FORTUNE! A big song wheel was pulled onto the stage and a cute little theme song played as Orla picked two lucky fans from the crowd to come up and spin the wheel. After a cute little dance and hello between herself and the first contestant. We watched as the wheel selected a song… “I Go Crazy.” One of her earlier releases, this was about the first time she told a boy I love you and then was met with silence in return. The funkiness of the bass and drums brought the crowd back to its high energy which would be maintained for the rest of the night. Contestant 2 came up with their own homemade flower head and spun “Flatline.” A song about a one sided friendship where you always give your everything for nothing in return. Once again, the song has a bit of an uptempo sound (comparatively to earlier songs), getting the crowd dancing around as Orla continues with her interesting combination of a soft indie sound with a high energy act. She would announce her final song “Late to the Party” which had the crowd electric. During the performance you once again could feel the entire venue shaking at your feet. As she and her band exited stage everyone waited, then chanted for the encore.
Orla returned to the stage alone to give a mesmerizing performance of “Heavy.” This was the final slow song of the night. One final moment of peace, somberness, and emotional connection before we kicked it back to the true electric tone to end the night. Her band returned for three encore songs, “More Like You,” “Little Chaos” and “Zombie,” which is quite literally a song about feeling a million emotions at once. Well, if every emotion being felt was resulting in high spirits and me almost falling to the floor at a final crowd induced earthquake, I’d say it was an absolute success. For all the mellow vibes we faced earlier in the evening, these final three songs were the perfect contrast to let everybody go out with a bang.
From top of the night to the final second of the last encore track, every bit of Orla’s trip across the world was worth seeing. The DC stop on her North American Tour was the perfect mix of heartfelt, meaningful connections, and high energy indie rock. If you have the opportunity to catch a show while she is still here, I would absolutely recommend it. There may not be too many more chances before she begins exiting the intimate tiny venues for larger performance halls.
GALLERY: Orla Gartland & Emma Harner at The Atlantis in Washington DC (November 9, 2024)
