Featured image: Toast Press
If you ever want to enter a dreamlike state, go see Avalon Emerson. She exceeds expectations of the unknown, the bizarre and the outright psychedelic. For those who choose to immerse themselves, it’s only when they find themselves peering up at her illuminated silhouette that they realise the trance has already begun.
With her latest critically acclaimed album, Written into Changes, released on March 20, Emerson’s presence feels especially anticipated. As a DJ and experimentalist, she’s known for her eccentric, genre-bending style – but she’s more than a musician; she’s a magician, seamlessly blending electronic synths, techno, pop and touches of indie.
A mixed-age crowd gathers in YES Pink Room, distinct in nature but united in purpose. Emerson’s entrance is bold and magnetic: she emerges through flickering lights, arms held high, greeted by a swell of claps and cheers.
Opening with ‘How Dare This Beer’, from her most recent album, she immediately wins over the dimly lit room, where silhouettes of heads and arms bob up and down. The track establishes her signature style as it combines indie-electronic synths with a somewhat playful and quirky edge, instantaneously capturing the audience in a hypnotic state.
“This is the second night of the tour,” Emerson tells the beaming crowd. “We just came from Glasgow – I thought I would be more nervous!”
The set moves on at a brisk pace, each transition flowing into the next, while still maintaining a compelling sense of intimacy and intensity.
Drawing largely from Written into Changes, Emerson also weaves in tracks from her 2023 avant-pop album, & the Charm, including ‘A Vision’, ‘Karaoke Song’ and ‘Hot Evening’, each adding depth and variation to the set.
Her wife, Hunter Lombard, joins on guitar, beautifully layering indie textures into the set, creating a unique fusion of synth-pop, indie and techno. Their onstage chemistry is effortless and infectious, their shared smiles reflected across the crowd.
‘Written Into Changes’ stands out as a defining moment. Bathed in flickering magenta light, it builds before transitioning into pulsating beats, forging a hypnotic and potent moment.
This momentum continues through highlights like ‘Wooden Star’ and ‘Sandrail Silhouette Remix’, combining vivid rainbows of light with punching beats, ebbing and flowing throughout the crowd.
As the set winds down, the illusion gently lifts. Emerson perches at the front of the stage, chatting casually with eager fans, showcasing a down-to-earth nature that contrasts with the otherworldly performance.
Speaking to aAh!, she reflects on the night and her influences: “I really enjoyed playing tonight, a lot of the music from Manchester inspires my own.”
With an array of colour and a surreal, almost trippy effect, it’s clear that Avalon Emerson is not one to miss live.
Featured image: Henry Redcliffe Not to be outshined by the artists performing today, the rain makes its inevitable return to the skies of Yorkshire over Leeds Festival. With the downpours hardly taking a break, Saturday is the day for the indie-heads and brats, as two of the most anticipated acts of the weekend take the…
Featured image: Georgina Hurdsfield Despite the dreary weather forecast, it seems the explosive noise of the night before has blown away the expected torrential rain, as the sun fights through the clouds to shine over Leeds Festival on Friday. With the opening of the ‘other’ stages, the first double headliner, and a very special birthday,…
Featured image: Ruby Boland As the gates of Bramham Park finally opened for the 2026 edition, so too did the heavens, with heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast for the whole weekend, you’d be forgiven for thinking this year’s instalment of Leeds Festival was a write-off. Neither the punters nor the artists would let this dreary…
Featured image and gallery: Hoang Phan Notebooks were carried from one workshop to another. Writers from different generations sat around tables, sharing manuscripts and listening to each other. Outdoors, small groups strolled along Oxford Road, pausing before buildings steeped in literary history. This was the scene during the Manchester Writing School Summer Festival 2026, held…
Leave a reply