Leave the house? Seems quite likely with all of this going on.
Hitting the UK and Ireland for a live run in support of her most recent album, ‘I’m Doing It Again Baby!’, Marie Ulven is an artist transformed.
Words: Dan Harrison.
Marie Ulven, the Norwegian pop sensation and former Dork cover star better known as Girl In Red, is about to paint the UK and Ireland various shades of crimson with her latest tour. Kicking off in Dublin on 27th August, this run of shows feels like a victory lap for an artist gleefully shedding her indie bedroom pop cocoon and emerging as a full-fledged pop butterfly.
Touring in support of her latest album, ‘I’m Doing It Again Baby!’, Ulven seems determined to prove that, yes, she is indeed doing it again – and this time with more colour, more volume, and significantly more unabashed joy. Gone are the days of whispering about teenage crushes into a lo-fi microphone; Girl In Red 2.0 is here to make some noise.
The album, released back in April, marked a seismic shift in Ulven’s sonic landscape. Where her earlier work was a masterclass in introspective melancholy, ‘I’m Doing It Again Baby!’ is practically bouncing off the walls with exuberance. It’s a sugar rush but with better hooks and a dash of existential pondering.
“Fun is the new rock’n’roll,” Ulven declared to Dork earlier this year, and if these upcoming shows are anything like the album, attendees should prepare for a masterclass in musical hedonism. Tracks like ‘I’m Back’ and ‘Doing It Again Baby!’ are primed to transform venues into pulsating, sweaty, gloriously happy mosh pits. Even the more introspective moments, like the raw vulnerability of ‘Pick Me’, promise to hit different in a live setting, where Ulven’s newfound confidence is likely to shine through every crack and crevice.
But it’s not just about the music. Ulven’s stage presence has evolved alongside her sound. Gone is the shy, somewhat awkward teenager who burst onto the scene with ‘I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend’. In her place stands a more assured, still charmingly awkward, but undeniably magnetic performer. She’s the kind of artist who can make an arena feel like an intimate gig in your mate’s living room – if your mate happened to have a penchant for stadium-sized pop hooks and a knack for making existential dread sound like the best time you’ve never had.
This tour also represents a full-circle moment for Ulven. Having supported behemoths like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, she’s had a taste of the big leagues. Now, headlining venues like Glasgow’s iconic Barrowland Ballroom and Manchester’s O2 Apollo, she’s proving she can command big spaces on her own terms. It’s a far cry from the DIY ethos of her early days, but Ulven has managed to scale up without selling out.
Authenticity is currency, and Girl In Red is cashing in big time. Her music has always been brutally honest, but now it’s honest and having a bloody good time. She’s inviting audiences into her world – a world where vulnerability and joy coexist, where sadness doesn’t negate fun, and where a queer Norwegian pop star can make you dance, cry, and ponder the meaning of existence all in the span of a two-hour set. Prepare for a night that’s sure to leave you seeing red – in the best possible way.
3Olympia Theatre, Dublin (27 Aug), Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow (29 Aug), Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow (30 Aug), O2 Apollo, Manchester (1 Sept)
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BleachersÂ
Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers are set to turn London’s O2 Academy Brixton into a time machine, destination: a John Hughes film soundtrack circa 1985. Their ‘From The Studio To The Stage’ tour lands in the UK again for an extra one-off date while around for this past weekend’s Reading & Leeds. Antonoff, pop’s producer extraordinaire, can conjure magic on both sides of the glass, crafting anthems that sound like they were birthed in a DeLorean. After London, the run continues its European jaunt, hitting Berlin, Cologne, and Amsterdam.
O2 Academy Brixton, London (27 Aug)
Blink-182
Blink-182’s rescheduled Glasgow shows should continue a nostalgic run that also suggests Mark, Tom and Travis still have something to deliver, even if their jokes about people’s mums are starting to feel age-appropriate in the wrong direction. The gigs – originally set to be part of their initial UK run – are part of a mammoth world tour that continues across Europe and North America, proving that you’re never too old to write songs about teenage angst and toilet humour. It’s going to be loud, it’s going to be juvenile, and it’s going to be gloriously fun.
OVO Hydro, Glasgow (29 Aug), OVO Hydro, Glasgow (30 Aug)
Fontaines D.C.
Fontaines D.C. are bringing their particular brand of poetic punk to intimate venues across the UK, and it’s going to be about as cosy as a circle pit in a phone box. These outstore gigs, supporting their new album ‘Romance’, offer a rare chance to see the band in spaces small enough to catch every drop of Grian Chatten’s sweat – or be blinded by his new neon tracksuit. It’s all part of a larger album release tour that will see them hop across the pond to North America before returning to the UK for larger shows.
Pryzm, Kingston Upon Thames (27 Aug), Content, Liverpool (28 Aug), Boiler Shop, Newcastle Upon Tyne (29 Aug)
Killer Mike
Killer Mike’s ‘Down By Law’ tour is set to give a masterclass in how to spit fire and drop knowledge simultaneously. Supporting his acclaimed album ‘Michael’, these UK dates are a pit stop on a broader European tour that runs into September. Backed by the Mighty Midnight Revival, Mike’s shows promise to be a potent blend of hard-hitting beats and even harder-hitting social commentary. Whether he’s rhyming about systemic inequality or his own personal journey, Killer Mike proves that hip-hop can be both a party and a protest.
O2 Forum Kentish Town, London (26 Aug), Albert Hall, Manchester (27 Aug)
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney, the godmothers of riot grrrl, are descending upon the UK with all the subtlety of a guitar feedback squall. Supporting their latest album ‘Little Rope’, these intimate shows at Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club and Glasgow’s SWG3 offer a chance to see punk royalty up close and personal. After this, they’ll hit End of the Road before wrapping up in Europe.
Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (28 Aug), Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (29 Aug), SWG3, Glasgow (30 Aug)
The Beaches
Toronto’s The Beaches are washing up on UK shores, ready to keep their growing momentum rolling at pace. Part of a larger European tour, they promise a touch of swagger and a rich blend of garage rock grit and pop hooks. With last year’s ‘Blame My Ex’ giving them the rocket boosters of a hot new act a decade into an already impressive career, life might be a beach after all.
O2 Forum Kentish Town, London (28 Aug), SWX, Bristol (31 Aug), New Century Hall, Manchester (1 Sept)
The Horrors
The Horrors are creeping back to their roots with intimate shows that promise to be darker than a goth’s wardrobe and louder than your existential dread at 3 am. Kicking off at London’s Shacklewell Arms before haunting Brighton Psych Fest, these shows should offer a chance to see Faris and co in spaces small enough to feel the full force of their sonic assault.
The Shacklewell Arms, London (29 Aug), Brighton Psych Fest, Brighton (30 Aug)
The Vaccines
The Vaccines are helping Leeds’ The Wardrobe celebrate its 25th birthday, and they’re bringing enough indie anthems to blow out all the candles and then some. These two special shows, part of a tour supporting their latest album ‘Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations’, promise to be a little bit special. After Leeds, they’ll embark on a full UK tour in October, but these intimate gigs offer a chance to see the band up close before they return to bigger stages.
The Wardrobe, Leeds (28 Aug), The Wardrobe, Leeds (29 Aug)
