LIVE FROM THE PIT: Hevenshe and Uninvited

Four years after Australian pop punk band Tonight Alive went on hiatus in 2018 due to physical and mental health concerns, lead vocalist Jenna McDougall announced a new solo project, ‘Hevenshe’. One year after the release of her EP ‘Wild Wild Heart’, she took to the stage for her first international shows under the Hevenshe moniker, having performed at 2000trees one week before her London debut. With support by UNINVITED, Hevenshe was set to grace the stage on this summery evening in London.

UNINVITED took to the stage with a quintessentially pop punk sound and energy, as they gave their all for a short, but sweet set. A four-piece band hailing from Glasgow, they knew how to keep the audience engaged, with heads bopping across the pit. After an explosive start to their set, they took things downtempo with ‘Survivor’s Guilt’, from their debut EP ‘I Feel A Bit Weird’. Lead vocalist and guitarist Jay Dhlakama and bassist Taylor-Ray Dillon demonstrated their vocal range and versatility, as they sung about a topic that is held dearly. Ending their set with ‘But What If I’m James Dean Instead?’, set to come out this Thursday, they energised the audience, who were ready to welcome Hevenshe to London with open arms. UNINVITED are a band to look out for, and we’re looking forward to seeing more from them.

Uninvited

As soon as Hevenshe took to the stage, the audience erupted with cheers as she opened her set with a bang. With her guitar, her touring drummer and her laptop playing backing tracks, Hevenshe kicked off her set with songs from ‘Wild Wild Heart’, showcasing the cathartic and empowering sounds she has carried with her since Tonight Alive. Before slowing down with ‘The Blessing’, she addressed the audience in what can only be described as heartwarming, as she said that she imagined that she was in England when writing the song. One year later, her imaginary scenario became reality.

With only her guitar on hand, Hevenshe treated the audience to four unreleased songs, including ‘Nothing I Can Do About It’, releasing next month. Strumming chords and singing painfully relatable lyrics made for an intimate atmosphere at Omeara, as Hevenshe workshopped songs born out of voice memos and notes in real time. Unlike a lot of gigs, she left the order of the songs ‘Eden’, ‘I Am Enough’ and ‘See You Again’ to an audience vote, as the crowd was filled with people following this project from day 1 through a membership to her Patreon page, giving them access to a community filled with Hevenshe fans (and Hevenshe herself). This level of openness to her audience is nothing new for Hevenshe.

The audience voted for the last unreleased song to be ‘See You Again’, a homage to her fanbase that was in the making for four years. As she split the audience into three sections, singing three different parts, the extent of the fanbase she had cultivated over the years as part of Tonight Alive and as Hevenshe could really be felt. We could tell that everyone was there for the long run.

 It's no surprise that this was the biggest turnout to a Hevenshe show ever. Despite a few tech issues during the show, we could tell that no one was fazed by them. All they wanted was to see Hevenshe present herself as she is through her music and lyricism. The night ended with ‘Try Not To Fear’, and we believe that Hevenshe should have nothing to fear. With a dedicated fanbase behind her, we think that this is only the beginning of many more firsts and bigger turnouts to her shows. One thing is for sure – Hevenshe wants more London, and London wants more of her.

Words and photos: Atoosa Salamat