Alessi Rose

If you had told Alessandra Rose Jones (better known as Alessi Rose) in 2024 about the next 365 days of her career, she’d have hardly believed anything you’d said. Thankfully, you don’t need to imagine anything, because this became Alessi’s stellar reality this year. From the release of two EP’s, to major festival slots at Glastonbury and Reading + Leeds, to playing at Wembley Stadium and Madison Square Garden, while opening for Dua Lipa and Tate McRae respectively. Few have had the year that she has, and all this before releasing her first album. It’s safe to say that Alessi Rose is one of the brightest stars to come out of the UK in the 2020’s, and it’s a matter of when, not if, for her eventual rise to being a worldwide phenom. Tonight, the biggest headline show of her career, playing to 3,000 people at the O2 Academy Birmingham (double the crowd she played to in the city just seven months earlier). With a rise this rapid comes a great deal of hype, attention and expectation. Unsurprisingly, though, Alessi brushed any worries to the side and delivered a performance worth remembering for all of her adoring fans in the audience.

An energetic Alessi took to the stage, coupled with the set’s lively opening track “That Could Be Me”. If any song was to open an Alessi Rose set, one that not only sets the tempo but also shows Alessi’s confident vocal delivery is the perfect choice. “eat me alive” follows with a similar stylistic tone of alt-rock, one akin to pop stars like Olivia Rodrigo, with the quirky lyricism of renowned songwriters such as Taylor Swift. Alessi is a master at controlling the crowd and having them in the palm of her hand, so much so that the phone torches were out already at the third song, “don’t ask questions”. I can confidently say I’ve never seen that happen so early into a set, but I can’t deny that it fit the moment perfectly. As Alessi dives through many of the tracks on her latest EP, “Voyeur”, as well as the recently released deluxe version, they reflect her versatility within the pop genre. There’s everything from warm ballads about lost friendships (“Stella”) to cheesy 80s inspired pop about moving on for the better in relationships (“Falling Forever”), and yet it’s all delivered in a way that’s unique to her. A special credit is also due to her bandmates, with the guitar and bass at one point synchronizing their bops and moves with each other as if choreographed.

Between each song, Alessi gives a moment to check in on the crowd and have some fun talk, and while this sometimes may be jarring when done repeatedly, there is a certain charm about her that makes you want to hear everything she has to say and feel. From reminiscing on her 2025, to explaining the meanings behind her songs, to some of her powerful messages of encouragement and support. There’s no wonder why she has such a dedicated fanbase both online and at her concerts. The one song that stuck out to me most, and my personal highlight of the night, was “pretty world”. Before the song, Alessi stresses the importance of bonding over music, which was something that was completely on show. Fangirls who were complete strangers with one another holding hands and forming circles, friend groups with their phone torches on recording themselves, and happy parents recording their kids having the most amazing Friday night they could ever envisage. This, to me, is what music is all about. And it’s because of these fans giving their all and showing their unconditional support that Alessi has deservedly been able to play these venues.

The crowd’s support for Alessi was relentless throughout the night, with a fan project during “Take It or Leave It” involving the audience holding up lyric sign complete with a picture of the cartoon character Snoopy, who Alessi is a massive fan of.  The fans had every reason to be this passionate for Alessi, because her and her band continue to show their quality. A final run of songs, including “RIP” and “Dumb Girl”, are sung as loud and excellently by Alessi as they were by her fans. Small live intros and outros during these tracks were also very nice touches, whether they were extended transitions for these songs or some cool heavy rock moments. The set ended with the excellent “Same Mouth”, which to me was the complete Alessi song. Clever and witty lyricism (“Paint the red flags green”), a killer chorus and a sense of evoked nostalgia in its great instrumental. Her touring musicians certainly deserve a heap of praise, as their fantastic work lays the foundations for Alessi to add the cherry on top of a complete sonic landscape. Many times during the night, Alessi expressed disbelief at headlining a venue of this size, and with the way things are going, she’s not going to believe the things that are inevitably in store for her in the future. To achieve all she has in just two years is not only a testament to her talent, but most of all her resilience and hard work. That’s what’s going to propel her to super stardom.