Manchester Academy
The singer and multi-instrumentalist showcases her talents with terrific R&B songs as well as shredding Prince-style guitar solos
HER is the alias of 25-year-old R&B vocalist Gabriella Wilson, a US child star mentored by Alicia Keys who made her first TV appearances aged 10. In the six years since anonymously dropping her Grammy-nominated debut single, Focus, enigma has been her hard currency. As on social media and her award-show performances, HER arrives on stage in signature dark glasses that stay fixed throughout the set. It complements her other hard currency; Prince comparisons, something underlined by plenty of purple lighting.
HER’s discography is a pot-pourri of collaborations that may provide streaming ubiquity, but have left her studio releases uneven. So while tonight’s gig may open with the bombastic DJ Khaled collaboration We Going Crazy, it’s a red herring for a set that finds a genuine consistency for the multi-instrumentalist’s obvious gifts.