LIVE FROM THE PIT: Lights

Hopping across the pond for the first time since 2022, the Canadian singer-songwriter LIGHTS is bringing her sixth album A6 on a near sold-out UK tour. This body of work is LIGHTS in her truest form, produced and fully owned by the artist herself. The synth-pop star managed to pour her joy into the rest of us tonight, sharing this sacred moment with the London crowd. In her own words: "We’re humans, we’re not AI, so let’s get together and dance!"

It’s a Friday night at the Garage, and the whole room is almost at capacity already just past 7pm. This is admirable, especially considering that there are no supports for the evening, just the one and only. Whether it is an unusual choice or a return of events, it’s refreshing to see all the attention focused on the main act for a change. Even more, it points to how successful and charming LIGHTS is to be able to pull it off with just her and the band, and raise such a high demand in the capital seemingly effortlessly.

And oh did she prove the set was worth the wait. From the first chords struck and the first words sung, the whole room got pulsing in excitement. Starting off with the strong opener Come Get Your Girl, LIGHTS moved right onto belting it in River and Running With the Boys. The singer sounded miraculous throughout, and every new track seemed to be a crowd-favourite, with lingering claps after each one and careless, joyous dancing all around the venue. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhzX2y5MpSM

This is her first headline tour in the country since 2019, and LIGHTS is now taking us seven back, to this very room. She notices familiar faces arriving here from far beyond just London; another indicator of just how enormous the power of music can be that it has brought us together here. Although much of the setlist consists of the cuts off her newest release A6, LIGHTS goes on to explain that this album is all about looking back at different versions of ourselves. With that, she puts on a medley of Timing Is Everything / Flux and Flow / We Were Here for the fans who were there during the older eras.

The disco balls begin to shine as the cover of Love Me by FELIX CARTAL rolls on, followed by the rave-fit energy that Batshit unleashes. After a half hour of tireless jumping, LIGHTS decides to wind it down for a brief moment, letting her band leave the stage to play a solo piece. Written on this very soil, Cactus in the Valley is deeply relatable to many, even if we’ve got no cactuses around. 

Sprinting right back to the hits shortly after, LIGHTS has full control over the audience, not letting them lose an ounce of energy too early. Witnessing the performance of Okay, Okay and Surface Tension leaves you in shock, thinking "Damn, they know every single word!" A few more crowd-pullers and a cover of All The Small Things later, it is encore time, the walls vibrating one last time before she sings Up We Go and finishes off with Education.

As nice as it is to get home early, we all waddle out of the venue wishing it could have lasted a tiny bit longer. On the flip side, there is still plenty of time to soak in the feeling and catch your roommates in the kitchen to tell them all the stories from the show. As always, LIGHTS has put on a stunning performance, both visually and sonically, that certainly makes you feel Alive Again.

Words: Mariia Bulkina

Photos: Nicola Small