Closing out Liverpool Sound City 2026‘s late-night coverage before the trek back to Manchester, local resident Issie took over the Arts Club Loft on Sunday night. Stepping up with remarkable poise, she commanded the intimate space with an effortlessly smooth, vocal-forward performance.
Loft Room Intimacy
Commanding the late-night slot at the Arts Club Loft on Sunday evening (3rd May), California-born, Liverpool-based songwriter Issie provided the perfect down-tempo conclusion to the weekend’s festivities. Walking out onto the compact stage to face a crowd balancing end-of-festival fatigue with high expectations, the LIPA student immediately shifted the room’s frequency. Backed by her band, she traded the aggressive guitar grit seen elsewhere over the weekend for a sophisticated, soul-infused pop landscape that felt instantly comforting.
The true weight of the performance rested in Issie’s exceptionally malleable vocal tone and striking, narrative-driven lyricism. Her studio material carries a reputation for intense, personal commitment, but seeing those unreleased arrangements breathe in a live environment exposed an entirely new side to her artistry.
She held the microphone with absolute, unhurried poise, navigating intricate R&B-tinged vocal runs while the instrumentation behind her remained tastefully pulled back. This spacious arrangement allowed her smooth, underlying storytelling to sit firmly at the forefront, effectively hushing the back-of-the-bar chatter and locking the audience completely into her orbit.
All photography provided by David Ellitts (@dave_took_some_photos)
