Holly Humberstone’s ‘Cruel World’ Comes Alive in an Intimate Birmingham Set

Bathed in blue light, Holly Humberstone took to the stage in Birmingham for a stripped-back show celebrating her second album, Cruel World, set for release on April 10th. Despite being a more intimate, scaled-back show, her vocals immediately drew the room in. To set the scene, the stage was washed in a shade of Cruel World blue, a light fog hanging in the room, and atmospheric staging of fairytale-like makeshift trees and oversized flowers that made the whole space feel even more intimate.

Holly Humberstone, by Silken Weinberg

The room filled quickly, everybody eager for Humberstone’s performance – a few audience members even cheered at somebody merely testing Humberstone’s mic. When the lights eventually lowered just over an hour after doors, Humberstone walked out with a big smile on her face, and an endearing “Hey, Birmingham!” escaped her, as if greeting an old friend and not a room of six hundred adoring fans hanging onto her every word already. It was clear the room was entirely hers.

The tone of the show was established pretty quickly, Humberstone beginning with "To Love Somebody" . Across early tracks such as "Paint My Bedroom Black" and "The Walls Are Way Too Thin", her vocals moved effortlessly between power and restraint, remaining steady and controlled, woven with tangible emotion. The audience cheered loudly already, as soon as the lights would change and she’d begin to sing a new song.

"Into Your Room" saw the stage bathed in pink light, its romantic tone undercut by a quiet sense of desperation and yearning carried through Humberstone’s delivery of lines like “I need you”. As her set progressed, the quiet intimacy of the opening slowly gave way to a more engaged crowd. There was a complete tonal change through her performance of "Die Happy", where a slow, meaningful gothic feel to her lyrics fostered an intimate environment, the room near-silent, with only her vocals and the instruments cutting through the venue. For a moment, it was as if everything had stilled to listen in.

Her next song needed no introduction, quite literally. As Humberstone began to sing "Falling Asleep At The Wheel", the crowd seemed to truly come alive for the first time, the energy shifting within the room as a chorus of fans sang along. That sense of connection carried through into "Kissing In Swimming Pools", where, after the lyric “tell me I’m pretty”, the crowd responded loudly by yelling “you’re pretty!”, creating a playful moment amidst the song, and a big old grin on Humberstone’s face.

Taking a moment to speak to the crowd, Humberstone shared just how special it felt to be back on stage, having dreamt of returning to live shows. There’s something genuinely endearing about the way Humberstone spoke to the crowd, as if catching up with an old friend over a cup of tea. Her endearing nature continued as she described how the next song she wanted to sing was her most personal and embarrassing song yet, and that it was “terrifying to sing”.

Holly Humberstone, by Silken Weinberg

Building on this, she reflected on the pressures of girlhood and the industry, admitting that “looking nice is currency”. It’s a sentiment that highlights the expectations placed on women, both in the industry and in the wider world. Humberstone introduced this unreleased song as "Beauty Pageant" and it was undeniably one of the standout moments of the show, her vocals cutting through the room with pure emotion. So much so that it received the loudest and longest applause of the entire night.

A defining moment of the set came with the introduction of "Cruel World", the title track of Humberstone’s upcoming album. She told the audience she didn’t know how the songs she had written so far, about halfway through her album, fit together. When she wrote "Cruel World", everything just clicked, and she described it as the “blueprint” of the album. Her performance of the track was almost commanding, her vocals carrying a sense of desperation despite the upbeat tone of the song itself that made the emotion behind each line nearly visceral, filling the entire room.

"Lucy" , another unreleased song, brought the set into a noticeably more intimate space once again, establishing itself as one of the most emotionally resonant moments of the entire night. Stripped back to piano, the performance felt deeply personal, Humberstone’s delivery offering a quiet sense of affection and care for the subject of her song. This softer atmosphere continued into "White Noise", a third unreleased on her setlist, which she introduced through a light-hearted story about writing the track in Nashville “of all places”, offering a brief moment of humour before returning to that deep and intimate emotional core of the set. Beneath the song’s playful surface, it captured the all-too-familiar feeling of overwhelm in a crowded space, where even reassurance of the “girlies in the bathroom” faded into white noise, leaving Humberstone with only the urge to cry and dance.

Closing the set, Humberstone hinted at a return with her full band before introducing one final song for the night. As she began "Dive", the performance was interrupted when a member of the crowd became unwell, prompting her to immediately stop and ensure they were okay. She continued to reassure them that “that’s been me so many times, honestly, passing out in the crowd” in a moment that felt genuinely kind and human from Humberstone. Once the situation was resolved, she continued with the track, giving a strong and energetic close to the night, with the crowd loudly shouting back an iconic line from The Real Housewives within her lyrics, Humberstone fully leaning into the moment with a grin on her face.

Ending on a simple, but entirely heartfelt note, Humberstone thanked the audience once more, having made a point to thank them after every single song, holding her hands up in a small heart – it was a gesture that perfectly reflected the warmth and sincerity she had shown through the entire set.

Holly Humberstone, by Silken Weinberg

About the artist

Holly Humberstone is a UK singer-songwriter whose music leans into emotional honesty and that slightly messy, overwhelming side of love and growing up. Her sound sits in a grey space between intimate indie-pop and something more cinematic and theatrical, with soft, layered production that mirrors the way her lyrics build. Since her early releases during COVID, she has built a strong fanbase following for the way she captures those small, universal feelings that end up hitting a lot harder than expected.

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