Having re-launched herself onto the music scene a mere few years ago, RØRY (formerly known as Roxanne Emery) has taken the alternative scene by storm. Her music is a bridge between beautiful and heartbreaking as her lyrics heavily feature themes of addiction and loss. Her latest release RESTORATION; whilst still an emotional body of work, focuses on moving forward as it’s simply put — “everything you lost will be restored / everything you lost is still yours.”
The setlist is perfectly crafted to span through the different eras of RØRY’s releases so far. Opening with new tracks “In The Bible” and “if pain could talk, what would it say?” ends with the line “RØRY, this is the start of your story” — a cleverly thought out and poignant start to the show. From there, stand alone singles and tracks from her debut EP, Good Die Young are at the forefront of the show. Viral anthems “UNCOMPLICATED” and “Help Your Friends Get Sober” are amongst the fan favourites of the evening, as well as “My Funeral Song” which featured an impromptu appearance from As December Falls vocalist, Bethany Hunter.
It’s at this moment that RØRY shines a light on the evening’s openers. Lake Malice delivered a hyper-pop and metal infused set that reaped tonnes of energy. The duo spanned through seven tracks from their short but sweet discography — even playing their latest angry single “Scatterbrain.” As December Falls followed suit and delivered an equally enthusiastic, but sonically tamer performance. Their pop punk inspired songs translated to the audience well and by the end of the set, were all prepped and ready for RØRY.
Continuing her onstage storytelling, RØRY announces the “sad” portion of the set as she talks about her late mother before dedicating tearjerker, ‘Jesus & John Lennon’ in her memory. The track is closely followed by ballad “Family Tree” which shines a light on RØRY’s powerhouse vocal ability before rounding off with an instrumental jam from her session drummer and bassist. “Hello, I’m up here!” is softly spoken through a microphone as a beam of light projects up onto the balcony to reveal RØRY accompanied by guitarist Charlie Manning. They spend a few moments candidly talking to the crowd before playing two acoustic numbers which made for a real stand out moment of the set. It’s not long before RØRY is back on the main stage and the show continues. “MORALITY $UICIDE” and “The Atheist” are amongst the tracks that round off the evening.
Not before long, the band file back onto the stage once more for a show-stopping encore. Huge anthems “SORRY I’M LATE” and “BLOSSOM” proved to be the perfect choice for the evenings finale. Tears of pure euphoria filled the venue as fans screamed every lyric back to the overjoyed singer. A quick snap with the crowd and final bow takes place in the final moments and the completed show is a triumphant one.
RØRY shows offer a real sense of community where people of all backgrounds and all stories — no matter how traumatic, are not only welcomed but celebrated. As far as opening shows of tours go, this set the standard and Birmingham was well and truly restored.
GALLERY: RØRY with Lake Malice and December Falls at O2 Institute in Birmingham, UK (March 3, 2025)
