It was singer-songwriter city Wednesday night at the Fonda Theatre for Australian rising star Dean Lewis‘ headlining show, joined by Canadian singer Forest Blakk and New York crooner Camylio. Lewis’ voice enveloped the Hollywood venue for a variety of ballads and uptempo tracks, including many from 2019 breakthrough album A Place We Knew, others from 2017’s Same Kind Of Different and newer songs “Falling Up”, “Looks Like Me” and “Hurtless”, with some unreleased material making a huge impact as well. We connect so spiritually to our singer-songwriter talents because they give so much of their personal story, and that’s exactly what Dean Lewis did (along with Blakk and Camylio), proving that vulnerability is the way into a fan’s heart.
20-year-old singer-songwriter Camylio opened the night with a bit of an emo bang in his face for most of his set. The heartfelt piano ballad “unbreak” showcased excellent falsetto with Camylio’s voice “breaking” in all the best parts, while his big piano ballad “i tried” had the singer belting. The crowd was fully engaged, singing along immediately to Camylio’s cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You”. It worked well with a male voice and he said, “Don’t be afraid to sing along” and the audience did upon hearing just the first few notes.
Canadian pop singer Forest Blakk brought the mood up and back down (and all around) during his stellar set of hits, taking the stage in all black (and a stylish hat), starting off with soaring vocals on “I Wish I Knew” with an addicting drum beat from Dave Brandwein. “Sometimes you’re a fool for thinking that love won’t work out”, said Blakk. “Sometimes you’re a fool for thinking that it will”. He played “Foolish” with Chris Potter playing the lovely piano and Blakk lifting his voice into pleasant falsetto moments. He talked with a couple of fans in the crowd who had been dating for five months and asked “What’s your secret?”, followed by a round of laughs. He played “I Saw Love” with the brilliant lyric “when your heart starts racing faster than your mind does” for the feel-good love song.
The lights twinkled beautifully, juxtaposing some pretty high notes on the keys as Blakk became a hopeless romantic on “When I First Found You”. Blakk offered his number to fans as support, encouraging them to get in touch, sincere about getting back to them. The crowd was split in half for the uplifting “Sideways”, rousing up the fans for a call and response. Blakk played an old audio message from his girlfriend that brought all the feels prior to “Fall Into Me”, an excellent new track with a pulsating beat and he mentioned, “You were the first people to sing that one back”. Soon after, Forest Blakk got real with everyone, “I never thought I would write a song that would change my life but it happened during the pandemic”. He played his 2020 smash “If You Love Her” (one of the best ballads of the past two years — Meghan Trainor, where you at?) with the whole place singing along and phones lit up. Blakk ended with his bright, anthemic “Give You Love”, a mid-tempo that feels magical in a live setting.
Dean Lewis jumped right into his 2021 song “Falling Up”, opening with some mood-setting guitars, wearing all black, hitting some high notes beautifully with fans singing along to the inspiring final chorus. The vertical lights blazed behind Lewis for the catchy “Stay Awake”, accompanied by fantastic guitar from Alex Bennison. The lyric “They say the bigger the love, the harder the fall” resonated especially when Lewis shouted the following line, “Well I’m crashing through the floor”.
Lewis talked about a date he went on with a girl in London and how he wrote a song about it after. Fans clapped for the 2nd verse of “7 Minutes” after Lewis’ storytelling opening, picking up with fans singing the entire chorus of the addicting tune. “Do you guys want to hear a happy song?”, asked Lewis. “Well, I’ve got none”, he joked. And he announced next up was “Need You Now”, playing the heartbreak song on acoustic guitar, starting off as a ballad and picking up with a thrusting drum. Prior to “Chemicals”, Lewis mentioned he wrote the tune five years ago in Australia one night when he stayed home instead of going out with friends, never once thinking he’d one day play in LA. The lovely guitar ballad framed his voice in a really pure way, and the melody beautifully connected with fans, who were singing by the song’s end.
Dean Lewis told a brief story about his label putting him up in a hotel on Sunset Boulevard for a few weeks, and taking nightly walks with his headphones on. He called a girl who told him she met a guy who looked like him. After the noticeable gasp from the crowd, he played the mid-tempo, hand-clapper “Looks Like Me”. The crowd clapped for the lively pop/rock tune “Lose My Mind”, taking on a tribal feeling at the end with a chorus of “oh-ohs”.
“Straight Back Down” offered a driving pulse, with the stage flooded in blue and a pow from Ryan Brewer on drums as Lewis belted his face off on the powerful vocal. It was an uplifting moment and a clear sign that Lewis has multiple uptempo songs that are total fire. He ignited so much energy into it that following the performance he said, “I felt like I was going to pass out halfway through that song”.
It was clearly the show not to miss, with Dean Lewis sending props to some special people who were in the room, including Kygo, Anson Seabra, Clinton Kane and upcoming tour mate, Blake Rose who will join him for a string of dates in Australia.
Lewis wailed away beautifully on a raw vocal of “Hold Of Me”, smashing impressive head notes and falsetto, complemented with a twangy, emotional guitar from Bennison. Lewis shared new song “Scares Me” while at the keyboard, impressing with phenomenal dynamics. For the heartbreaking “Half A Man” he remained at the keys, with purple flooding the stage, as he sung the stirring vocal “How am I supposed to love you when I don’t love who I am?” He gave the floor to the fans to sing out the final chorus and it was for sure a moment. He then played “Don’t Hold Me delicately on acoustic guitar.
The next new song “How Do I Say Goodbye” was for sure the saddest song of the night and truly the most incredible moment of the night, with Dean Lewis’ voice hitting a whole other level, pouring out of his soul. Lewis talked about how it is a love song, written about his dad, who was sick and suffering and how he was inspired by one road trip from Los Angeles to Monterey, observing the way his parents looked at one another in the eye. Sniffles could be heard around the theater throughout the song. Following the raw and truly personal tune Lewis said his father says of the song, “I love it, but I’m never going to listen to that again”. When Lewis shared that his father had been in remission for a couple years the crowd went wild.
Lewis did the right thing, restarting his biggest hit to date “Be Alright” because a fan was noticeably in distress. “It’s all good, ‘case we get to do it again, it’s my favorite part of the show”, said Lewis. He played the rather moving pop ballad, hitting the emotional chord on the lyric “nothing heals the past like time”, later giving his fans a chance to sing for a moment. His 2022 tune “Hurtless” was next, with Dean calling it “the sequel” to “Be Alright”. Bennison harmonized with Lewis on this one.
For his encore, Dean Lewis played “Adore” on guitar, elevating the mood with its uplifting vocal and another twangy guitar from Bennison. Lewis’ 2016 breakthrough smash “Waves” took the cake. “I love you all,” said Lewis. “This next song is about the excitement of youth and trying to get that feeling back again”. He nailed it, with stunning harmony alongside Bennison, a huge punch on the drums from Brewer and it had just the right amount of thunder to feel the crashing emotion of the song.
Words by Michael Menachem
Images by Tim Aarons
