Natalie Merling had plenty of stories to share during her recent turn as Weyes Blood at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles last week. And for good reason.
The 35-year-old singer-songwriter was born in Santa Monica. She lived in California until the age of 11, when her family of born-again Pentecostal Christians moved to Doylestown, PA. But, as she revealed during an enchanting set in front of a hypnotized hometown crowd, Natalie’s ties to Southern California and its venerable music scene run much deeper an accident of birth.
About halfway through the show—following an enchanting opening performance by Perfume Genius—Weyes Blood shared the story of her upbringing, and how she ultimately made it back to L.A. in 2016. It was there and then that she penned the album Front Row Seat to Earth—which she cited with a captivating rendition of “Seven Words”.
Before performing “Hearts Aglow,” from 2022’s And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow, she noted that the song was an ode to the famous Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier. Closing the main set with “Movies” required no explanatory introduction, given the proximity of her roots to Hollywood. (Though the montage of famous movie scenes that served as the song’s backdrop was no less enthralling.)
The most revealing of Weyes Blood’s stories came as a segue into “A Lot’s Gonna Change”, off her seminal 2019 album Titanic Rising. Natalie described an 11-year-old girl who crashed a date with her older sister in 1971. During that date, the suitor in question took the two young ladies to Griffith Park, where he led them through the woods to sneak a glimpse of that night’s performance at the Greek.
Who was on stage that night? None other than Carole King. Natalie promptly revealed that the younger girl in the story was her mother. More revealing, though, was the cosmic connection to Carole King. After all, Weyes Blood’s music falls firmly into the lineage of female folk singers formed by the likes of Carole, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell.
From “God, Turn Me Into a Flower” and “Children of the Empire” to “Andromeda”, “Everyday”, and “Picture Me Better”, all of Weyes Blood’s songs are carried by her hauntingly sweet voice. Even “Sides”, her encore duet with Perfume Genius, echoed with the tones of old Laurel Canyon.
Of course, Natalie’s voice is hardly confined to the town where she was born and (partly) raised. She’ll continue serenading audiences through the end of November—just not stateside. Weyes Blood will wind her way through Europe and the U.K. between late October and mid-November, before hopping back across the Atlantic for shows in Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. For tickets and a full list of tour dates head here.
Check out image galleries from Weyes Blood and Perfume Genius at The Greek Theatre courtesy of photographer Josh Martin along with fan-shot videos from LiveShowEd Videos.
Weyes Blood – “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody” – 10/4/23
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