From October 14th to November 7th, Genevieve Stokes took to stages across the U.S. to tour her latest album, With a Lightning Strike.
Stokes and the accompanying act, Lily Kershaw, gave audiences the space to embrace a multitude of feelings, sway like the audiences of Woodstock, and be transported to another world. The performances of these talented women show how musicians in the folk, singer-songwriter and indie-pop scene are using vulnerability as armor.
The Musical World of Lily Kershaw
The opening act, Lily Kershaw, paints nature scapes with her soft folk ballads. Her crisp and clear vocals portray stories of growth, nostalgia, loss, and love. The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter can transport audiences to a lonesome front from a Western or the chilled atmosphere of a dying forest in the Autumn. Performing songs from her latest record, Pain and More, Kershaw brought audiences in with a musical hug. Even taking time to meet and physically hug excited fans.
Sniffles were surely present in the crowd, as was wiping tears with songs that pulled at heartstrings. Kershaw was excited to engage the crowd, inviting familiar listeners as well as new ones to sing the chorus of her song Now & Then along with her. Laughing along and cracking jokes about maintaining eye contact with the crowd, the performance felt like an intimate acoustic set in a friend’s living room. With close proximity to the stage, Kershaw could banter with those familiar with her music, asking for songs they loved and excited for her old work re-visited live.
“Remember the rooftop parties / Remember the friends / Remember the way I loved you now / And the way that I loved you then” – Now & Then, Lily Kershaw
The Folklore of Genevieve Stokes
Headliner Genevieve Stokes is known for her whimsical and folkloric music, especially her biggest hit, Habits. Drawing inspiration from aesthetics such as Alice in Wonderland on her 2022 EP, Catching Rabbits, Stokes’ music is like that of an antique store. Her piano-based songwriting encapsulates feelings of youthful exploration and curiosity, as it does melancholy. Her debut album released in October, With a Lightning Strike, demonstrates her versatility and emotional depth.
Beginning as an indie-pop artist writing melodic tunes on an electric keyboard, Stokes basks in the comfortably uncomfortable. Her debut 2021 EP, Swimming Lessons, documents the typical perspective of a misunderstood, outcasted teenage girl in a small town. However, Stokes writes and sings with a chilling maturity, developing even stronger as she navigates early adulthood. Despite having the grace and maturity of an accomplished folk singer, her youthful spirit is sure to remain.
Taking the Stage With a Lightning Strike
Based in Maine, Stokes embodies the seaside atmosphere of her hometown. The artwork for her debut album depicts something of a shipwrecked soul beside a lighthouse. This sense of seeking salvation is reflected in her lyrics, as is the hopeless wonder of how life moves on. Finding light in the darkness, and in herself, Stokes demonstrates the process of growing up masterfully throughout her album.
- “But do you wanna love me?/ Tell me, baby, what is real / ‘Cause I’ve been waiting for you / Long before you struck me down, my dear” – With a Lightning Strike, Track Two
- “A ghost when it’s finished, a ghost from the store / If life is a pebble, then we are the ports / She’s tiptoeing, tiptoeing ’round and around/ The life of a woman afraid to be found” – Life of a Woman, Track Six
Stokes reflects on a relationship from before the beginning through the bitter end.
The evolution of Stokes’ writing aligns with the universal experience of finding oneself amidst the wreckage of a relationship. But amidst the heartbreak, Stokes picks out shimmering shards of sea glass as she rekindles with herself. The record feels like a breath of salty sea air after holding everything in for quite some time.
- “I’m still pulling myself upstream / I’m the scaredest child I’ve ever really known / And I’m still looking for an explanation” – Amusing, Track Eleven
- “I still think about you once or twice / Pieces of your old advice / But I know that we’ll grow / Older and older with new paint on our shoulders / But I hope that we won’t” – How Things End, Track Thirteen
Intimacy & Impact – The Rise of Independent Artists
Stokes and Kershaw both performed incredibly vulnerable sets. Their music shares themes of love, loss, and the inevitable growth beyond it all. Stokes started her touring career opening for folk sensation Noah Khahn in 2021 just as the two gained traction. Now, headlining her own tour in smaller venues, Stokes is able to be more grounded and interactive in her performance.
Drinking a Paloma between songs, switching back and forth between playing the piano, and providing brief introductions for each section of her setlist. Stokes is not only captivating as she sings but also humorously relatable. As is Kershaw, both of them cracking lighthearted jokes about the emotionally dense content of their music. They share an ability to connect not just through the touching lyrics of their songs, but also through the friendly and familiar eye contact with the crowd.
Live music is often an opportunity for release and expression. Ranging from the thrashing mosh pits of a Punk show to the gentle sway of a Folk fairytale. In a post-pandemic age, many people are re-familiarizing themselves or at odds with others with the various forms of crowd etiquette.
It begs the question of what concert-goers and music listeners seek from their experience. It can often feel like a crowd is disrespectful, aggressive and overwhelming, or all-together disappointing and lacking energy. In these smaller venues where smaller artists can bring together a crowd, sharing many of the same sentiments or life experiences, a new value of community can be celebrated through music.
