After going viral on TikTok, Australian singer-songwriter Jude York felt it was time to bring his music across the globe. His Heartstrings Tour, in support of the EP with the same title, released on the 23rd of May, struck down in Amsterdam almost a week later. On the 29th of May, Jude York played a show in Paradiso Upstairs.
The doors to the venue opened at 19:00, and fans only had to wait thirty minutes until it was time for the set to begin. Music started playing over the speakers before drummer Thomas ‘Tom’ Reinholz and guitarist Benjamin York (York’s brother and who makes his own music as sleepy benjamin) came to the stage to finish the track’s instrumentals live. As soon as Jude York himself joined them on stage, he went right into ‘That’s Just Love’, the opening track on HEARTSTRINGS. Immediately as the song came to an end, a fan yelled out “I love you, Jude!” The singer answered back without missing a beat: “I love you too,”he exclaimed, before also saying it in Dutch, “Ik houd van jou”. York continued with the nostalgic and upbeat ‘Those Were the Days’, singing about a time “Once upon a European summer”. While not quite summer yet, the sun had broken through the clouds that afternoon, making a great atmosphere for the track. The crowd eagerly clapped along while York performed some funky dance moves.
As soon as the first two songs were over, York thanked the audience for coming and welcomed them to the Heartstrings Tour. Next the singer treated his audience to an unreleased song, after which he burst out in gratitude: “Holy moly, a sold-out show in Amsterdam”. He thanked the audience both in English as well as Dutch. York introduced his next track by saying how it was written at a time he felt insecure and had a crush on a person he felt was way out of his league. At an earlier show, a fan had told him that they had shown their crush this song as they related a lot to it, and their crush ended up liking them back – an adorable showcase of how music can forge connections. This, unfortunately, did not happen for York himself, but he did manage to write this amazing song about it. ‘Mr Porcelain’ is a vulnerable track during which York showed off his vocals as well as leave room for the crowd to sing along at the top of their lungs, especially during the outro that repeats the lyrics “I could never” over and over again.
The night’s set continued with a medley of York’s first ever single, ‘I Won’t Need to Dream’, and his collaboration with Atch, ‘Neverland’. York then made his way over to the keys for an acoustic performance of the following song. Drummer Reinholz was the only other member on stage with him and a spotlight illuminated him during the second part of the fragile ‘Does It Hurt?’. After York was done performing it, he spoke about people only coming to his shows because they know his track ‘Monaco’ and how they might be surprised that he doesn’t just make dance anthems, but also lovey-dovey songs full of emotion. Speaking of emotional moments, York introduced the next song as very symbolic to himself. In the studio, he recorded it in a duet with his mother, as the song embodies the sadness that comes with seeing a loved one grow up. “Life and time is a bit brutal,” York stated, and the track acts as medicine for him. Of course, his mom was not able to come on the entire tour with him, so instead he invited Dutch singer Oliver Aron to perform it with him. The two guys’ vocals worked really well together and it definitely pulled on the audience’s heartstrings hearing them sing ABBA’s ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’.
Aron left the stage and guitarist Benjamin came back on stage to perform ‘After the Opera’. Shortly after York spoke about how this was his first sold out show ever. He wanted to mark the occasion “in a gen z way” by making a TikTok. He already began outside the venue and wanted the fans at the show to finish it with him. After York switched positions with Reinholz. It was the drummer’s turn to sing (a part of) ‘Hey Jude’ by The Beatles. York excitedly took on the role as drummer while Reinholz and Benjamin York had a little dance to the introduction of the next unreleased song. They played it as soon as all three of them had made it back to their designated spots and then continued with their single ‘Cashew’. York gave the vocals over to the crowd, as he grabbed his flute at the end of the track to play the instrumental outro.
Before the night’s final few songs, York talked about how he put out his EP recently and that the next song, ‘Whiplash!’, was one of his favourites. He invited the audience to dance along to the dramatic alternative pop anthem. The singer and his band left the stage for the encore, before performing the viral, upbeat hit ‘Monaco’ and the slower ‘Angels Don’t Cry’. During their final track, the entire venue filled with lights – a beautiful ending to a well rounded show. Afterwards, York headed to the merch table to meet as many of his fans as possible. Don’t sleep on Jude York and his boys, big things are coming for them.
