Hannah Wicklund’s ‘Live at the Troubadour’ is a Personal and Artistic Triumph
If you’ve never heard of Hannah Wicklund before, you won’t forget her voice. Powerhouse vocals add fire to cutting lyrics backed by bluesy guitar shredding. The multi-creative Wicklund, who in addition to music is a visual artist (look no further than her album covers for examples of her work), has been songwriting since childhood, forming her band at just eight years old.
If that’s not impressive enough, she’s a self-managed artist publishing on her own label, Strawberry Moon Records. ‘Live at the Troubadour’ was recorded at the iconic LA venue in March of 2024 during Wicklund’s HELL IN THE HALLWAY tour following the release of her sophomore album ‘The Prize’. The live album features the entire discography of ‘The Prize’ and a few standout songs from her debut album ‘Hannah Wicklund and the Steppin Stones’ accompanied by extended instrumental solos and Wicklund’s insights into her songwriting process. Basically, it’s everything you could hope for in a live performance.
“Hell in the Hallway” opens with punchy drums and a low keyboard drone. Wicklund slides into a soulful electric guitar solo before letting her voice soar. On “Hide and Seek” and “Witness,” Wicklund packs so much simmering intensity into her voice at times she’s nearly screaming, her impressive vocal control turning the passion into notes. If you’re mystified by the talkbox effect during Wicklund’s scorching solo in “Witness,” watch the recording of her performance at the Troubadour and be even more perplexed at how a rubber tube can sound that cool.
The folksy “Lost Love” and ballad “Songbird Sing” showcase the versatility of Wicklund’s voice. Before playing “Shadowboxes and Porcelain Faces” from her debut album, Wicklund says the song was inspired by disillusionment with social media, but the song’s meaning to her is now about embracing flaws. This outward-to-inward shift of focus shows that as Wicklund matures, her songs mature alongside her and are as dynamic and alive as she is.
The same can be said for the tracks on ‘The Prize’, which Wicklund explains she wrote at 21 years old but the album wasn’t released until a few months before she turned 27. In the time between, the sentiment behind the album crystallized to her as a callback to her childhood self who did ballet, loved the color pink, and had a castle in the clouds painted above her bed. But maturity trivialized femininity, and like many girls she “leaned into the masculine to feel respected.” She traded ballet slippers for leather pants, but has since come full circle back to that little girl and now performs in a floaty pink dress and tiara.
Photo via @hannahwicklund on Instagram
“The Prize” is a song for every woman who’s faced her internalized misogyny and welcomed those dreamy qualities back into her life with an understanding of their strength. “Sun to Sun” is another track reinforcing the female perspective of Wicklund’s music with its refrain “Men may work sun to sun, but a woman’s work is never done.”
On “Can’t Get Enough,” Wicklund flaunts the textural range of her voice that rasps and soars to mimic her guitar’s feedback. “Intervention,” “Mama Said,” and “Dark Passenger” speak to feelings of regret and the winding road to knowing yourself. “Jam in E Minor” is exactly as advertised. Wicklund’s nearly two decades of guitar talent are on display as she lets the guitar sing for her. The jam slides into “Bomb Through the Breeze,” the breakout song from her debut album that roared into the ears of more than seven million listeners.
Wicklund’s voice isn’t shy, on stage or outside of it. On her social media, Wicklund has shared her experiences of manipulation, sexual harassment, and trauma within the music industry and her own personal life. For an independent artist (let alone a woman) to be so outspoken is incredibly, powerfully brave. Advocating for herself, and in turn others, is a testament to how self-actualized Wicklund is as a woman and as an artist. After all, there’s nothing more rock n’ roll than sticking it to the man.
‘Live at the Troubadour’ is an anthology of songwriting at its most perceptive and empowering. Wicklund speaks to the personal while simultaneously tapping into the collective experience. The final track “Strawberry Moon” is an anthem of hope and resilience that condenses the lasting impression of the album into the final line—“And baby I’m fine ‘cuz I’ve got dreams to be thinking of”—delivered with the ferocity of a battle cry. The best rock is yet to come; the best of Hannah Wicklund is yet to come; the best versions of ourselves are yet to come. Transformation can be painful, but there’s triumph waiting for those brave enough to embrace it.
Listen to ‘Live at the Troubadour’ below, and experience Hannah Wicklund live (and in person!) by checking out her tour dates.
