WORDS AND IMAGES RHYS GROVER
Hobo Johnson bring his unique musical style to Manchester’s incredible New Century Hall as part of his current run of UK Tour dates.
Lauran Hibberd is along for the ride on the tour, and it was a refreshing surprise to see her merch and hear her music as I made my way through the crowd to get a decent position. It’s the first time I’ve seen her at a venue, as she’s normally a must watch festival act on my previous encounters. Her music has developed with great skill over recent years, and her latest album is proof of what a talent she has become.
Hobo Johnson is still getting his foot in the door in terms of his musical career, but it’s one that is quite clearly going to lead him places. His success is increasing with each passing month, and this tour will do nothing but nurture the rise he is on at the moment. He has been releasing music since his 2015 debut album ‘Hobo Johnsons 94 Corolla’, and it’s not been an easy ride by any means, but now he’s back on the road after a hiatus, we can only hope more success is on the cards for him and his band.
In total, Hobo Johnson and The Lovemakers were on the stage doing their thing for not too much over an hour. It was a great selection of some his finest tracks, and his fan favourites. ‘Mover Awayer’ opened the set, and the crowd were unhinged from the beginning. It was a relatively young fanbase, and they were hanging off every word and movement of the band. ‘Subaru Crosstrek XV’ ignited a bigger fuse with the crowd though.
You could see the look of amazement on Frank’s (Hobo Johnson’s real name) face as he looked out to the crowd. Their support was something pretty special, and one fan decided to show their support with a launching of a bra onto the stage. Frank decided it was a good idea to grip the bra in his teeth before throwing it back in the crowd to find it’s original owner. The buzz this gave the crowd was huge, and Johnson played off the back of this for the rest of the night, thanking the crowd with gestures throughout near enough each and every track.
A reception like this on his tour will have done him the world of good, having taking time out of the industry after the release of his last album in 2021, and if the 10’s of millions of streams on each of his tracks on Spotify are anything to use as a guide, we’ll be seeing a lot more of Hobo Johnson over the coming years as he hones his craft and builds his fanbase.
SETLIST
1- MOVER AWAYER
2 – SUBARU CROSSTREK XV
3 – ROMEO & JULIET
4 – CREVE COEUR 1
5 – UGLYKID
6 – ANTON LAVEY
7 – PEACH SCONE
8 – ALL I SEE IS POOP (
9 – DRAKE DISS
10 – THE METAVERSE
11 – SEX IN THE CITY
12 – JANSPORTS
13 – HAPPINESS
14 – I WANT A DOG
15 – BIRD
16 – TYPICAL STRY
ENCORE
17 – FEB 15TH (ALONE FOREVER)
FOLLOW HOBO JOHNSON
FOLLOW LAUREN HIBBERD
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
