Em Beihold is a singer/songwriter known for constantly bringing honesty and vulnerability into her music. Over the years, this has led her to build a close-knit relationship with her fans. To strengthen the relationship even more, Em launched her “Super Small Semi-Secret Piano Tour.”
Visiting intimate venues in six cities throughout the United States, Em was able to provide fans with a rather scaled back show that focused on her vocal abilities, personal songwriting, all while being accompanied by a trusty piano. San Diego’s turn came on April 23, with Em performing at Lou Lou’s Jungle Room – a recently opened supper club inside the historic Lafayette Hotel. The club had a distinct charm that made it the perfect venue for such a show. In fact, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say the environment played a huge role in making the show extra special. Immediately upon walking into the club, fans were greeted with a 360 degrees bar featuring a giant chandelier in the middle. While most of the venue was dimly lit, a giant band shell in the center of the stage illuminated the front half of the room. Each table had chairs shaped as seashells, giving the venue a funky retro feel. These surroundings created an even more excited mood among the crowd, and there was no doubt it was going to be a great night.
Emerging artist e.woolf opened up the show, playing an acoustic set to everyone’s delight. She performed her original songs with a very calm demeanor, gently playing her guitar and singing stories of love and heartbreak. While most of the songs e.woolf performed are yet to be released, she introduced the crowd to her song “single hollywood tear,” which is available to stream now. She also performed a playful cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please,” allowing the crowd to sing the dirty word on her behalf and immediately commenting “you said it, not me!”
Minutes later, Em Beihold walked up to the piano, and welcomed the crowd to her tour! While she promised to perform fan favorites as well as new songs, she admitted that there would be “inevitably lots of mistakes.” She compared the setting to being in her living room, and us, the fans, were her friends joining her inside.
At one point, she encouraged her fans to join her in singing along to her songs. “You guys know how to sing,” she said. “It’s not scary, you’re in my living room!”
Compared to her previous “Maybe Life Is Good Tour,” there was no dancing coming from Em, nor was there a backing band of any sort. However, she mentioned she wanted to try something new, and something a little more in line with her vision of herself as an artist. It was a unique experience being able to hear strictly piano versions of songs such as “Groundhog Day,” “Maybe Life is Good,” and even her smash hit “Numb Little Bug.”
Em also took a few moments to share the stories behind certain songs, including an unreleased song titled “Soup.” She revealed that she lost a friend group recently, and her mom had pointed out the fact that their personalities weren’t very dynamic at all. They would all just blend together like soup.
Perhaps the most striking story of the night was about Em’s collaboration with Stephen Sanchez for “Until I Found You.” Em had watched an Instagram reel of Stephen Sanchez singing, and she gave it a like. Her manager approached her and mentioned they noticed how she had been liking “all” of his reels, and is “obsessed with him.” She was then asked if she wanted to do a collab with him.
Em said, “I generally don’t write love songs, and this is like the loviest… this is like a wedding song!”
While Em also mentioned that she wrote her verse in about five minutes, the moral of the story could very well be to not be ashamed of showing your support/interest for someone or something. It could very well turn into a new opportunity, a song that receives over a billion streams, or even a chance to further propel your career and eventually go on a very unique tour such as the “Super Small Semi-Secret Piano Tour.”
