Ritzy Bryan lead singer of the Joy Formidable performing at Harlow’s Photo by: Bryce Fraser

Bryce Fraser
Staff Writer

Harlow’s nightclub and bar in the heart of midtown Sacramento was host to the performance of the Welsh indie rock band, The Joy Formidable hit the stage at Harlow’s alongside opening band the New Regime who had performed for an ecstatically excited crowd.

The band Joy Formidable has been on their USA Spring Tour around the nation for months now since their new album Hitch was released last March.

The opening band was New Regime, their sound was a blend of electronica mixed with hard rock and the drumming was very hard rock of the 90s in style. The band did great in getting the audience pumped up.

The band, The Joy Formidable, came on stage amped up and ready to perform for their fans. After the first few songs they apologized for being a few minutes late getting on stage and informed the crowd that the reason involved the dog that travels with them. They informed the audience the dog was ok and now enjoying a much needed quiet time.  They performed many songs from all of their albums, such as “Cradle” from their album The Big Roar.

The Joy Formidable played “Radio of Lips” and “Last Thing on My Mind” from their new album Hitch. The song “Radio Lips” really showed off Rhydian Dafydd versatility going from bass to keyboard while doing vocals.

The band returned on stage for an encore, they then preceded into the middle of the audience where  they  played “The Brook” from their new album acoustically without any microphones, or electric instruments. Ritzy Bryan, front-woman and lead vocalist of the band, explained how when writing their songs they are created acoustically away from usage of electric equipment.

Bryan showed off her angelic voice during the performance within the crowd while preforming “The Brook”. The band finished off the night with their hit song, and a favorite among fans, Whirling, getting the audience members got excited.

The song included a prolonged instrumental section at the end where the band jammed out as hard as they could. They invited a few audience members up on stage and even let one hold and even play guitar all while the instrumental continued, and then ended strong and with satisfied fans.