A staggering and heartfelt parade through old and new: Dev Hynes reaches creative enlightenment with his London residency.
Since my Friday night in Barking for the Essex Honey listening party, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do to attend Blood Orange’s (the musical Alias of Dev Hynes) London shows. I was very quickly hooked, with “Countryside” becoming the unofficial soundtrack to my Sunday afternoon park ambles. But luck wasn’t on my side. Despite the group chat back and forths, alarms, and a generally solid effort to score tickets, I was left empty handed. Then, just weeks out from the show, an opportunity to attend night one at Alexandra Palace came along. Because good things come to those who wait.
Essex Honey is Blood Orange’s first album in six years. It was made in the wake of his mother’s passing in 2023. The tragic event drew him away from New York – the city he’s called home since the early 2000s – and back to Essex. It resulted in heartfelt tracks like “The Field”, which address the feelings of homecoming, missed loved ones, and the country air.
With all that in mind, my ascent to Ally Pally and into the theatre felt like a homecoming in itself. A quick scan of my surroundings revealed Blood Orange fans from across the spectrum, from cool old heads scrolling emails in the corner to teenage pals queuing up to snag Essex Honey merch. Inside, lads in ASICS trainers and Turnstile tees nursed pints and discussed the afternoon’s Grammy nominations (they were big fans of PinkPantheress). Shortly after nestling into my spot a few rows from the front, Hynes and his band made their way to the stage situated in the middle of the room, to a short, solid burst of applause, ceasing suddenly as the crowd tuned in, listening intently.
Hynes is in the midst of a sold-out run of four nights in London. He enjoys 9.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and yet, he wears a “London” baseball cap, a grey tee, base-layer and cargos; a stripped-back, functional uniform, the armour of a man determined to deliver the best show possible.
What followed was emotional and intimate, setting out on a course of Essex Honey, with welcome and whole-hearted detours into Hynes’ extensive discography. Opening with “Look at You,” the 37-year-old upped the anti, with the punchy electricity of a live band. “Thinking Clean”, “Mind Loaded”, “Somewhere in Between”, and “Countryside” stoked things up further, meanwhile “Champagne Coast” pulled the biggest applause of the night, thanks in-part to a new-found appetite for the 2011 track on TikTok. I’d have loved Hynes to go deeper into this back catalogue, perhaps giving us “Uncle ACE” or “Out of Your League”, but where Hynes does delve into his earlier stuff, he maintains pace and rhythm to bring things back to “The Field”, so maybe it’s a personal thing.
Throughout the night’s medley of bangers, Hynes switched between guitar, piano, and cello with a humble sleight of hand, dropping a surprise solo cover of The Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now” and giving the stage to his bandmates Eva Tolkin, Ian Isiah, and Tariq Saleem Al-Sabir at numerous points. It’s a fitting reflection of Hynes’ collaborative spirit, given his production work with artists including Solange, Mariah Cary, and FKA twigs. And it was refreshing to see it on the night.
The 37-year-old ended the show with stripped-back “I Can Go” as the stage descended into darkness, his bandmates exiting with just a single spotlight on Hynes who left to a standing ovation from the gallery.
I made my way out of the venue, back past the merch stand. Standing shoulder to shoulder with the old heads, new heads, and in-between heads like myself, I felt fulfilled, almost lighter, knowing that if I had to wait another six years for a similar experience, it would be worth it. Kudos to a job well done.
Words – Ollie Cox
Photography – Henry Croston
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