Pop Break Live: Jade Bird at The Foundry at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, PA
Words & Photos by Cathy Poulton
British singer-songwriter Jade Bird played to a packed house at The Foundry in Philly on 9/29. Bird has been turning heads since 2017 with the release of her debut EP “Something American.” Her breakthrough song, “Lottery,” hit #1 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative song list. It didn’t hurt to get a huge nod along the way from Rolling Stone, listing her on their Country Artists “Need to Know” list.
At just 20, Jade Bird is an incredibly gifted songwriter; citing influences such as Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Neil Young, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Alanis Morrissette. Her extremely honest soul-bearing lyrics run the gamut of heartbreak, loss and anger. You can definitely hear some of those famed influences in her writing style.
Bird, accompanied by her stellar three piece band opened the night with a beautiful rendition of “What Am I Here For.” The set was a nice mix of songs from her debut album and some newer stuff such as “Lottery,” “Furious’ and the Alanis-inspired kick-ass song “Uh Huh.”
These songs will be included on her highly anticipated full length debut expected in 2019. Other highlights of her set included the songs “Love Has All Been Done Before,” “Good Woman,” “If I Die,” and a show-stopping cover of the Bangles “Walk Like An Egyptian.” As you can imagine, the audience participated with great joy in that song.
The two song encore started with ‘Something American,” and ended with one of the best covers of Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere” that I have ever heard. It was a wild ending to an absolutely perfect night of music.
