Raging for change with Delilah Bon

Last week I went to see the fantastic Delilah Bon in Leeds at her charity gig to raise money for causes supporting the people and animals in the US affecting by the horrific ICE raids - The Bond Between, ACLU and the Women's Foundation Of Minnesota. The show was scheduled around the time that Delilah was supposed to be touring the southern states of the US but due to safety concerns for her & her band and the audience she was forced to cancel the tour. 

I've been raving about Delilah and her music for a couple of years now, her Evil Hate Filled Female release was my favourite album in my 2024 Music Blog and after seeing her for the first time last year (read my blog about it here) I was determined to see her again as soon as I could. So off to Leeds I went for an adventure. 

The train journey was nice and simple and a really quick 2 and a bit hours from Kings Cross to Leeds. Once I arrived I decided that a pit stop for lunch was needed and helpfully found a Wetherspoons under the flightpath to the airport ...

Lunch in the sun

I stayed at a Premier Inn and loved the purple bathroom 😆

After a tactical nap it was time to get ready for the show. I wanted to look cute so I wore my spikes (someone in the crowd told me I looked like "an emo statue of liberty" I now consider this the greatest compliment ever paid to me!).

I got chatting to some really nice people in the queue (applause please for the autistic person speaking to strangers!) including the lovely Mila and a couple of girls (I never got their names 😓) who had made some awesome signs to fit into the protest theme of the evening. 

Shout it loud!

More signs at the sides of the stage -

Before the show I had the chance to meet Delilah and she was so so nice. She was so patient with my Autistic/ADHD mumbling and took the time to listen to me when I thanked her for her music and told her that it was helping me through my PTSD from being bullied for being a 'freak'. I told her that I wished I'd had her music when I was a teenager and she told me "You have me now" which just meant the world. My only regret was forgetting to pose for a photo with her as I was so overwhelmed meeting her. I did manage to get a selfie which may also be one of the worst photos of me ever taken 😂

The support act was Crae Wolf who I'd been wanting to see for ages!

She has a really unique sound of 'Baddie Metal Core' and a beautiful voice. 

As you'll see from the photos from the rest of the show I was so close to the stage.The photos and videos are all from my phone and only a tiny bit zoomed!

She was the perfect opener and got the crowd dancing and hyped up. 

Delilah came on with raging energy and for the rest of the show she and the audience barely took a breath. 

In these times of hate and danger to so many vulnerable communities, such as the LGBTQIA community, Non-binary and Transgender, People of colour, Disabled and the scary racketing up of threats to women both worldwide and here in the UK, Delilah screams for change and we scream with her. 

Princeless Princess is always fun to scream along to!

There were two incredibly special moments of the show for me. The first was during 'Not The President' (already an incredibly emotional song written in response to Trump's re-election back in 2024) where Delilah holds the hands of the audience members to reflect her promise in the song to hold the hands of us Bon Bons. 

As she came along to my side of the stage she actually held out her hand to hold mine and sang to me too 💓. I've been on the hunt ever since for any photos or footage of the moment which has lead to me laughing at several photos where my, er, 'gig face' has been immortalised ...

Aaaand now back to the show with my favourite photo I got of the evening. 

The absolute highlight of the show for me was during the performance of 'Maverick' (my favourite Delilah song) when Delilah and her band joined the crowd right next to me to dance together. 

Please excuse the video angle, my technophobe brain can't work out how to turn it landscape on my photo or laptop 🙇

I do however adore these screengrabs I got from the video. 

Delilah shared this shot on her Instagram a couple of days ago, you can see yet another flattering shot of me above the cameraman in the bottom right of the photo. 

At least my make-up looks good!

After a final dance to 'Bush' the show was over.

And it was time for a rock n' roll cuppa back at the hotel!

I still have so many emotions a week after the show. It was both humbling and inspiring to come together with people from all walks of life to both rage and protest for change but also to celebrate how special we are. It was a warning that those who abuse their power and other people will be held to account. It was a promise to scream for the rights of women to decide how they live their lives and to have control of their bodies. It was a promise to scream for the right to love who we want and to protect the trans and non-binary communities. 

Most importantly it was a reminder that love and kindness screams louder than hate. 

Love Jen

XxxX

Celebrating Our Idols - Yungblud at the O2 Arena

 

Time for my first gig of the year and it couldn't have started better than this weekend's Yungblud show at the O2 Arena!

I've been a proud member of the 'Black Hearts Club' since the start of 2020 and I've mostly seen him in smaller venues before (You can read my blogs of his Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Arena and the Chalk Brighton double show) so the O2 was a massive step up! 

The show was in support of last year's Idols album which I absolutely adored and was my favourite album of last year (reviewed in my 2025 In Music blog). 

Before the show I had a relaxing wander around Covent Garden in the sunshine and made a stop to shop for shiny things!

My outfit for the show, no I haven't grown out of painting artist's logos on my face 😏

I was seated for the show so although I was quite far back I had a good view of the stage without queuing for hours beforehand. I'm far too old for that now 😂

The stage set up

Before the show started we got a blast of Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' which set the 'Idols' theme up perfectly. 

He opened with my favourite song from the album 'Hello Heaven Hello' 

Next up was The Funeral which is my other favourite Yungblud song. With my two songs opening back to back I was already having an awesome time and the night just got better and better. 

I took a lot of photos in black and white as they came out clearer from being so far back. 

We had a cover of Ozzy Osbourne's Changes which is the performance that sent him into the stratosphere at last summer's Back To The Beginning  tribute song. 

We had a throwback to 2019 with the addition of Loner to the set.

The absolute highlight of my evening was the surprise addition of 'War' to the set. My autistic self had looked to see what the setlist was from the previous shows and I was a wee bit disappointed when I saw he hadn't been playing it. When the opening guitar riff started I had tears in my eyes as it's such a beautiful song. I didn't manage to get a video due to screaming along at the top of my lungs (my apologies to the nice couple sat next to me) but you can listen to it on YouTube. 

The two encore songs were the biggest hit of the Idols album 'Zombie' & the brand new song 'Suburban Requiem' from the 'Idols 2' album (wait until my end of year music blog to see if it matches it's predecessor as album of the year!).

                                    Zombie

  

Yungblud left the stage to the message "Don't forget to live" which says it all. He's always been very open about his own mental health struggles and ADHD, he goes out of his way to be inclusive of everyone regardless of their gender identity, sexuality, background etc etc. The most important thing is being kind to each other. It was a reminder that no matter who you are you deserve to be happy. 

And yes I do feel a new tattoo coming on

I came out of the show with no voice and on a massive high and I still haven't come down yet. It was such a fantastic gig with his trademark energy and you could feel his utter joy at being able to play such a huge venue. I really hope it's not too long until he tours again. Especially with the rumours that a new album is pretty much already written ......

Next month I'm off to Leeds to see my other favourite artist Delilah Bon, who coincidentally went to his Leeds show a few nights before the O2 show. Now that would be my dream collaboration ......

Love Jen

XxxX