Noah Cyrus, in a beautiful red velvet dress and sporting bleached eyebrows, brought her captivating energy and serenaded an adoring sold out crowd. Her show at the historic August Hall in San Francisco, California was the second-to-last stop on The Hardest Part Tour, celebrating the release of her debut full-length album, The Hardest Part. Just as her album takes the listener on an emotional journey, she brought the audience on a full ride with a heartfelt live experience, opening the show with the first song on the new album, “Noah (Stand Still).” the setlist included all ten songs from The Hardest Part, sprinkled in with earlier releases to bring each city the full experience.
as the youngest in the cyrus family, noah grew up surrounded by siblings and parents who have staked their ground in music. despite the seemingly internal and external expectation and pressure that may come with that, noah absolutely stands strong on her own as an artist. cyrus has found her own emotive sound across any and all genres from writing about deeply personal experiences and ultimately delivering a unique musical style to go along with her beautiful vocals - all of these factors becoming even more clear as the night progressed.
with a powerful yet down-to-earth stage presence, noah kept the audience engaged and singing along with her during intimate and emotional ballads, including “loretta’s song” - which she dedicated to her grandmothers - and dancing along with her during fan favorites like “july.” hoping that “everyone’s ready for this one,” she reached the halfway mark with “i got so high that i saw jesus” off of her 2020 e.p., the end of everything - and let me tell you, the crowd sure was ready.
the emotions of nearing the end of tour were kicking in, and noah spent time profusely thanking gigi, the opening artist, for coming on tour with her, thanking the concert-goers for being there, and of course thanking her live band as well. “singing and playing with them is my favorite place to be,” noah gushed to the crowd. one could, without a doubt, forget they were in the middle of san francisco, as they too were in noah’s favorite place to be, captivated by noah’s presence. it is difficult to believe that she is just 22, considering the maturity of her vocals, the complexity of her lyrics, and the absolute command that she has while on stage. despite her own age, the crowd she drew to her sold-out show were those of all ages, which speaks volumes about the high-value music she creates.
noah’s show came to an end with a three-song encore - truly a thought-out journey of its own - beginning with the vulnerable “lonely,” followed by her debut single “make me (cry),” and appropriately wrapping up with “the end of everything.”
