Concert Review: Birdy Is A Millennial Caryl Simon

Beginning her career at age 13, Birdy has a solid following that would go to the ends of the earth for her. As I watched her hit high notes with the crispness of  the ocean as it strikes sand, I realized the  essence of her musical power. She makes music to close your eyes to and dream. 

Throughout the crowd, I saw fans smiling and closing their eyes to absorb her lyrics like sun-rays to their soul. Personally, Birdy is one of the best lyricists in the music industry. For being so young, Birdy has always written songs that feel like they should be placed in a renown philosophy book. She comes of like a radiant Socrates or youthful soothsayer, revealing to you the core to human sentiment before you have experienced or can interpret it. They are eloquent paintings of humanity and are highly reviving to anyone in need of a spiritual companionship. She has an innate way of capturing bits of the human experience that are timeless and unifying, which in some ways makes her seem like an old soul. 

As titled, I would proudly proclaim her as the Millennial Carly Simon or Joni Mitchell. Like these women, she does not write songs but creates art frames for life’s joys and trials. From Wild Horses, Shelter, or Beautiful Lies, each track felt like a photograph into someone’s day. Moreover, they somehow appear more stunning when live. The acoustics elevate the intellect that goes behind each song’s beauty. It makes you admire her musicianship even more as you feel her work enter you swiftly without hesitance. Although her albums are stellar testaments to her prodigal talent. when you hear her live it is something else. I know “something else” sounds like a basic description, but words fail to capture a felt essence. 

The reason Birdy’s music is worth hearing live is purely sentimental. Upon appearance, she is just a young woman playing the piano. She does not dance and says a few thanks to the audience here and there. Yet, her songs conquer the atmosphere. They have the power to make you feel intimately connected while massively interconnected. You know everyone around you is feeling as enlivened as you are by the music being played. More importantly, because her songs are about the constant struggles and self-healing humanity undergoes, you welcome yourself into her world because, in many ways, it is your own.

We all turn to music for companionship and inspiration, Yet, the richest music comes in the form of songs that speak for you better than you speak for yourself. Birdy writes words that embody what your inner spirit wishes to say to both you and the world. Her songs remind you that for however different we all act from each other, there is a core to humanity that is the same. Birdy’s lyrics are based on that sameness that connects us to each other and makes us feel whole when said connection is realized. Thus, her concert will make you feel whole.