Ellur finds herself at home on the London stage
The penultimate night of her Spring 2026 tour, Ellur’s sold-out performance at Colours, Hoxton was a warm welcome into the world of her latest project.
A journey through Ellur’s experiences as a young woman growing up in Yorkshire’s Calderdale Valley, her debut studio album At Home In My Mind creates safe quarters for every innermost emotion. In Ellur’s words, “This album is an arm extended out looking for people who need a hand to hold.”
Fittingly so, this invitation translated perfectly to the London stage, which was decorated with a white window frame, the red tiebacks on its lace curtains a nostalgic nod to the string she always ties around her microphone or keyboard - like a talisman of home.
First to the stage at just past 8pm was Nadia Kadek, a 22-year-old alt-pop artist who blended introspective lyrics on themes of nostalgia, family dynamics and romance with her warm stage presence.
Just Nadia and her acoustic guitar, she began the set with a slow and sweet ballad as the spotlights behind her faded from left to right. Earning a big cheer from the crowd, she moved swiftly into the unreleased track, Jenny From Dakota, a more angsty track with plenty of ad-libs.
"My name’s Nadia Kadek and it’s so nice to be in London,” she said. “I live here so it’s an easy commute for me today! On this tour, I’ve been having the loveliest time. I’m going to play you the first song I ever released - it’s called Feeling It All. This song is my anchor when I feel like I cant write songs anymore because I’m really proud of it.”
A stunning rendition of her debut single, Nadia had fans in the front row swaying along and singing the lyrics - a sight which which she noted after the show, “sprung me back to life!”
Hilariously though, at one point, the lights almost completely turned off, and Nadia laughed alongside the crowd: “It’s very dark, isn’t it! I’ll carry on, just shut your eyes. It’s like a silent disco or something."
With the lights back on, we noticed that the room had filled in much more as Nadia moved onto the track, Jane. “Who here’s ever dumped someone?” she asked afterwards. "This next song is about the time I dumped someone and felt really bad about it." Playing the opening chords of the unreleased, Look At Us Now, many fans in the crowd lifted their phones to record Nadia belting the chorus.
Introducing the next song as one from her debut EP, Nadia played Always Almost Losing You as the lights billowed red and blue across the stage. A heart-wrenching ballad about someone you love slipping away, our favourite lyrics came in the bridge: “You, the make-believer / You with all your plans / Stuck where I can't reach you / Call me when you land.”
Pausing between songs, Nadia talked to the crowd: "Normally when I play in London I have to loosen everyone up a bit, but you guys seem so happy to be here! I have new music coming this year - I’ve been making a lot of music and am really proud of it."
Introducing her final song and title track of the EP, Green Car, Nadia explained: “It’s about my relationship with forgiveness being really messy. As a kid, I thought in a really black and white way, but realised as an adult that you can’t do that.”
Fittingly matched by green spotlights that swirled their way around the room, Nadia sang the melodies with effortless confidence, encouraging fans in the front row to dance along. A lovely end to her thirty-minute set, for those who’ve found themselves new fans of Nadia Kadek, you can listen to the rest of her discography here.
Soon after, it was time for the night’s headliner to take to the London stage. The lights dimmed, the crowd hushed, and a light piano melody played through the speakers.
Cheered on by the crowd, her band took their places as Ellur raised her arms centre stage. Wearing a black corset top, layered white maxi skirt and an electric guitar to match, she strummed the opening notes of Dream Of Mine.
A song about the emotional conflict between pursuing a music career as a woman and the societal pressure to settle down, she sang: “Well, it’s me and a guitar and I need you tonight / Want you to want to be here in this dream of mine.”
A contemplative start to the set, Ellur then asked, “Are you ready to let your hair down, London? This next one, I’d really love it if you sang along to the chorus.”
Playing her debut album’s third track, The Wheel, Ellur taught fans the chorus before shaking her hair out of its claw clip and grabbing a star-shaped tambourine. “Just spinning the wheel,” the crowd recited in perfect harmony.
“How are we feeling? I love this venue!” Ellur said, answered by a sea of cheers. Pointing out some fans in the back who were waving their hands, she headed into the next song, Yellow Light. Always a favourite of ours to hear live, it was great to see so many of the crowd singing along to every line.
Then came Black Sands, a bonus song featured on the deluxe version of At Home In My Mind. The stage fell into cinematic darkness except for one spotlight on Ellur, making her outfit look almost Gothic as she powerfully belted the outro, “I was just leaving / I was just.” A stunning live translation of one of her most lyrically clever songs, Black Sands was a definite highlight of the set.
“Thank you for being here,” Ellur told the crowd. “It really means a lot to me. This next song is about meeting someone who makes me feel like I’m not completely insane. I feel really lucky that this person is stood right there. It’s for them,” she said, smiling across the room.
An ever-tender track, Ellur’s performance of Lonelier In Heaven was matched by magenta lights and a dramatic pause for the pre-chorus, where the beat came back as she sang: “You called off the weekend / And I ran for the lines / But I was lonelier in Heaven / Than alone with you by my side.”
Rousing the entire room’s energy for her next song, Missing Kid, Ellur asked: “London, how do you feel about a little indie rock?” Shouting a countdown to the song, the entire room readied themselves to dance with her as the lights flickered purple to red.
Through the choruses lines, “This sinking feeling / I know it so well / Look like I’m healing / I’m going through hell,” the crowd clapped their hands, reciprocating every last bit of energy from the band’s performance.
Moving into the deluxe album’s seventh track, Pushing Away, the stage lights shifted into a wistful blue to match it’s self-destructive lyrics. Ellur sang the refrain, “Pushing away / I keep pushing away,” with her tambourine back in hand, spinning around the stage. Heading further into the outro, her drummer went - for lack of better words - crazy on the cymbals, an onstage crash-out that had fans in the front row jumping up and down.
Afterwards, Ellur held her palm against her chest, taking a moment to catch her breath and ground herself as the crowd cheered. “Wow, I fucking love doing this,” she smiled. “Thank you so much for being here. I’ve really found myself up here on the stage. I feel really at home with all of you. There’s a lot of crazy shit and fucked up things going on in the world. I look on the internet and feel like we’re more divided than ever, but then I look out at a room full of people like you and think that’s absolute bullshit.”
"Be present with me,” she asked, encouraging fans to put their hands up. “Oh wow, that’s literally everyone!” A firework of a song that’s all about embracing self-identity, Ellur performed Disintegrate with every ounce of sincerity that she initially wrote it with - and honestly, it’s a song that should never leave the setlist.
Surpassing the mid-way point of the set, Ellur lowered the energy back down for The World Is Not An Oyster. A song inspired by her own experiences with love, loss and change, we’re sure that it felt healing to perform live - especially with the London crowd waving their arms to the beat.
“I’m touring an album right now,” she said. “Writing, making, recording and releasing this album taught me so much about who I am, especially being someone who struggles with my mental health. There’s something about the magic of music that makes me feel so at home, and I named the album after this song because it made me feel at home within myself.”
Just Ellur and her pianist, they played a beautiful version of At Home In My Mind, adding an even more emotional layer to the track through her raw and emotional vocals.
“With this next song,” she explained. “I’d finished the album and it was done but then I wrote this one and everything fell into place with all the concepts I’d come up with and the ideas I’d had. It’s an album about not being sure about myself, and this one’s my secret favourite on the project. Doing music, I’ve never really been sure about anything else.”
With Knowing came one of the night’s most visually beautiful moments as a single spotlight splayed behind Ellur, making what looked like a halo of light around her. Just Ellur and her guitar on stage now, the entire room fell silent, listening intently to her every word.
To follow, she played the unreleased song Love Me, Fuck You. An ode to how everyone can be hurtful sometimes, Ellur was clearly surprised when fans in the front row knew the words. Then, of course, she invited the band back on stage and introduced each and every member, thanking the people on lights and merch as well as her dad on sound.
Now nearing the end of the night, it was time for God Help Me Now, the current-most popular single from her debut album with over 1.4 million Spotify streams to date. At just the mention of the song, the crowd cheered and Ellur exclaimed, "I fucking love London!" Unsurprisingly, this track was an absolute hit and had fans singing every line louder than ever before.
“One more song!” the crowd chanted after the band ran off stage, and Ellur listened. Yet this time, her bandmates sat down on the left of the stage to watch her perform.
“About a week after the album came out, I lost my great grandma,” Ellur said. “I’d never lost somebody like that and it hit me really hard.” Fuelled by that unimaginable grief, she wrote Caves, Handprints. A song that cements that generational echo of loved ones into her music, it gave the night an almost cyclical feel, grounding Ellur’s performance in exactly what feels like home to her.
It’s so special to see a performance from someone who loves music as much as Ellur does, because you can tell she loves every ounce of it.
Moving effortlessly between the sweeter ballads and rockier anthems, her set was inviting, expressive and captivating, creating a kaleidoscope of her discography that shone from the stage of Colours, Hoxton. The whole band felt like a family, holding the sold-out crowd in the palms of their hands. And somehow, with every single show, they just keep getting better.
In case you missed it, here’s the full setlist from the show:
Dream of Mine
The Wheel
Yellow Light
Black Sands
Lonelier in Heaven
Missing Kid
Pushing Away
Disintegrate
The World Is Not An Oyster
At Home In My Mind
Knowing
Love Me, Fuck You
God Help Me Now
Encore:
14. Caves, Handprints
Though her Spring 2026 tour has come to an end, you can catch Ellur later this year at Neighbourhood Weekender, Kendal Calling and TRNSMT Festival. Tickets can be found here.
In the meantime, make sure to stream At Home In My Mind (Deluxe) on Spotify - and for those who need recommendations for her older work, our favourite songs are Alive, Innocent (Dreaming) and Close To You.
