Maya Hawke At Lafayette In London With Opener Manu Grace
Written and Captured By | Sara Valle-Martínez
People gathered on a Monday night in indie venue Lafayette in London to see what the actor-turned-singer Maya Hawke had to offer.
South African singer Manu Grace opened for a crowd of expectant fans with a set of groovy beats and unguarded lyrics. Standing on stage in her green velvet dress with her guitar and keyboard, Grace sang and smiled almost all at once. In between the melodic songs, there was time for banter with the audience. They were keen to follow the sing-a-longs, swaying to the rhythm.
See more photos of Manu Grace HERE
Not long after Grace’s set but still fashionably late, Maya Hawke hit the stage with her band dressed like a modern-day Shakespeare with tussled hair. Hawke started with “Backup Plan”, a song off her latest studio album, Moss, which came out September 2022.
She looked shy wedged in between her bandmates, barely moving except for her arms and hands, but she made sure everyone present knew she can hold a note. Maya Hawke impressed the audience with her stable and sweet vocal range. It seemed she was whispering the lyrics that talk about her childhood, regret, and anger.
It’s easy to see some of Hawke’s referents are Joni Mitchell and Patti Smith. The harmonic and cohesive flow between songs felt like a bus ride on a rainy day.
See more photos of Maya Hawke HERE
Hawke’s soothing voice and the connection with her bandmates made the atmosphere warm and cosy. Will Graefe, who sings with “Crazy Kid” with Hawke, followed her from songs like “Sweet Tooth” and “Luna Moth” to a cover of “Into My Arms” by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. One had the impression he was almost pulling the singer back to earth just by simply staring at each other.
Hawke performed her debut single “To Love a Boy” during a short but sweet encore before bidding farewell to the audience with a “very American – as she called it herself – country song. Hawke and her band closed the night with a cover of Florida Georgia Line’s “Dirt” on an English dank night.