Enigmatic, British singer Cleo Sol makes her long-awaited L.A. debut at Hollywood Bowl

After years of softly releasing halfway stage-worthy euphony yet averting the spotlight, British singer-songwriter Cleo Sol made her long-awaited debut connected Friday nighttime astatine the Hollywood Bowl. The performance took spot conscionable days aft she performed stateside for the archetypal clip during a three-show tally astatine New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.

The vigor wrong the 17,000-capacity, sold-out amphitheater was palatable arsenic attendees, some caller and old, understood 2 things: This was a uncommon accidental to witnesser the prolific R&B vocalist perform, and that her profoundly healing euphony was going to determination them emotionally and spiritually. (Before the amusement started, respective radical successful the assemblage adjacent maine said they were acceptable to outcry — and truthful was I.)

Backed by an 11-member set including 5 inheritance singers — each of whom had distinguishable tones and felt similar they’d been handpicked by Cleo Sol herself — she opened the amusement astatine 9 p.m. with the introspective “Rewind” from 2020’s “Rose successful the Dark,” earlier effortlessly flowing into the project’s adjacent track, “Rose successful the Dark.”

Clad successful a gold-toned silk dress, Cleo Sol smiled brightly and playfully danced crossed the signifier arsenic she ran done different instrumentality favorites from “Rose successful the Dark” including the seductive and jazzy “When I’m successful Your Arms,” romanticist “Sideways” and the yearning “I Love You” and encouraging “Young Love.” Without the assistance of a backmost track, her soulful and silky dependable carried passim the ample venue arsenic she riffed and showed disconnected her awesome vocal range. In betwixt songs, she sipped connected an electrolyte-filled drink, which she joked was helping her get done the night.

Cleo Sol, who is besides the pb vocalist for the arsenic elusive U.K.-based corporate SAULT, could’ve easy dipped into their robust catalog — which spans 11 workplace albums and 2 EPs — during Friday night’s set. Instead, she chose to instrumentality to her solo offerings, pulling from 2021’s “Mother” and her 2023 releases “Heaven” and “Gold,” which arrived 2 weeks apart. (She gave a outcry retired to her husband, Inflo — her shaper and the mastermind down SAULT — who was successful attendance.)

During her opus “Heart Full of Love,” which she dedicated to her son, Cleo Sol joined her inheritance vocalists and sat connected a stool. As they sang the lyrics, “Thank you for sending maine an angel consecutive from Heaven / When my anticipation was gone, you made maine strong,” the assemblage lit up the venue by holding their cellphones successful the aerial and rocking from broadside to side. “This is making maine emotional, I’m gonna cry,” she said to the audience. “It looks beauteous from up here.”

More than halfway done the astir two-hour show, Cleo Sol concisely near the altar and resurfaced successful the stands, toward the mediate of the venue to sing “Know That You Are Loved.” She performed the profoundly affirmative way that feels similar some a mantra and a lullaby successful the aforesaid manner that she did during her viral Royal Albert Hall amusement successful 2023 — getting person to her fans, touching their hands and singing to them directly. Her tender vocal show felt similar a gigantic hug from a loved one.

She past returned to the signifier to execute the almighty “Life Will Be,” which felt similar a cleanable ending, earlier moving backmost retired yet again to sing an electrifying encore of “Why Don’t You” from her “Rose successful the Dark” project.

“OK, 1 more!” she said, laughing.

Much similar her R&B predecessors, Sade and D’Angelo, who are besides known for being reclusive and charting their ain territory, Cleo Sol’s show connected Friday proved that erstwhile you genuinely emotion what you bash and the euphony comes first, you don’t person to play into the industry’s never-ending rat race. Cleo Sol follows the divine timing of her beingness and does what feels close for her, which has paid disconnected successful the agelong run. She’s a testament to the information that though fans mightiness not privation to hold for caller euphony oregon to spot her execute live, they’ll excitedly amusement up for her whenever she’s ready.