Aurora at the Opera House

Photographs by Neil Van.

This week I had the opportunity of seeing Aurora perform at The Opera House.  The amazing folk pop songstress has won over critics and fans alike with her stunning voice, synth-soaked sound, and spellbinding stage presence.  

The energy in the room was tense, as many gathered around the bar to watch CNN’s coverage of America’s historic election. The eerie feeling suddenly turned to calm as the Norwegian platinum blonde petite goddess appeared on stage with her band. She started off delicately yet strong with “Lucky”, “Winter Bird”, and “In Boxes”.  The crowd easily fed off her momentum as they absorbed her beautiful vocals and soaring melodies.

Between songs Aurora seemed genuinely overwhelmed, almost bewildered by the audience’s wild applause and frequent declarations of how amazing she is. Despite her bewilderment, it was quickly followed up by a smile. She mentioned how sorry she was that she had to cancel her debut show this year.  “I hated having to do that” she says ‘But I’m glad to see you all here tonight. It makes me happy’.  

After performing a haunting acoustic version of “Murder (5, 4, 3, 2, 1), Aurora touched on current events that’s going on in the world.  ‘With everything that is happening especially with the election in America, it’s better to see the world through the eyes of a child’. The statement was the perfect introduction to her performance of “Through the Eyes of a Child”.

For the second half of the concert, Aurora and her band turned their attention to the more fast-paced material like “Runaway” “Running with the Wolves” and her current single “Conqueror”. This is where the crowd got to witness Aurora as the mighty performer with her signature interpretive gestures.  Her emotional vigor kept the audience lively throughout the night. And once again we were captivated as she closed with a beautiful cover of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars”.