On November 3rd, with the skies getting darker and the evenings getting colder, Sheffield hosted the first date on UK alternative artist Røry’s latest tour Blossom, with a massive queue forming across the university campus at tonight’s sold out show at Foundry, despite the oncoming rain. Across the six dates over selected parts of the United Kingdom, with a further five dates in Germany, Røry was joined tonight by British metal band Defences and exclusively for this segment American genre bending ‘traumacore’ artist Skydxddy. Whilst fans queued, they were all hand delivered a flyer from Røry’s team, detailing an overview of her merch at the show and a chance for her audience to win one of each of every item available, immediately inciting anticipation as the time before doors inched closer.
Finally with doors opening at 7pm, the queue rushed in for the tight turnaround before Defences took the stage at 7:15pm. This four piece metal group from London immediately delivered a heavy set to get the venue warmed up, producing brutal screams juxtaposed against elegant melodic vocals, with punchy low guitar riffs and catchy choruses, playing tracks such as ‘The Curse’ from their 2024 album Shadowlight to kick start the night, as well as introducing their latest single ‘Lithium Kiss’ from the prior month. Their stage presence and design is immediately eyecatching, adding almost a gothic element to the show, with roses embellishing the mic stand and several candleholders on stage, slightly concealed within the show mist. They finished their set with a lasting impression, concluding with ‘Gravity’ from their 2017 album, delivering another high energy and passionate piece to set the tone for the night.
Next up on stage at 8pm, SkyDxddy arrived and the room was filled with evident excitement, not only from the vocalist, but from the crowd who immediately erupted into applause and carried that same passion throughout her commencing track until the very end, where she received a more sustained and impassioned round of applause, with a similar intensity of emotion and gratitude that an artist would usually receive at the end of their entire set. It is also evident from her reception that she has garnered a dedicated following, as she used her platform throughout her time to address different issues behind the creation of her work (covering topics such as consent, domestic abuse, PTSD as well as other traumas and experiences) and it’s clear from her candid approach to discussion and awareness that she has created not just a fanbase but a community and safe space for her listeners. With only herself on stage throughout her performance, the American vocalist was tasked with controlling the energy and pacing of her set, of which she maintained an entertaining and enthusiastic stage presence throughout, delivering a mixture of hiphop with raw vocals and melodic choruses, as she played a handful of songs from her discography, including a number of tracks from her latest 2025 debut album TRAUMACORE, such as ‘Mortal Kombat’, ‘Choker’ and ‘Best Part of The Story’.
The anticipation continued throughout the night, as the crew began preparing the stage for Røry’s performance, the preset playlist was cleverly interrupted between songs to play a series of pre-recorded humorous dialogues from Røry and her partner Richard, directing the audience to the website deadgirlwalking.com, as a way to win merch as shown on the flyers, and later revealed to be a teaser. Finally, as the moment arrived, Røry took the stage with a burst of energy, clad in a vibrant signature red outfit, that immediately captured the attention of the crowd as the energy continued. She delivered poignant and moving vocals against a backdrop of punchy drumming and punky guitar riffs, playing several songs from her 2025 sophomore album RESTORATION to commence her set, such as ‘In The Bible’ and ‘If Pain Could Talk, What Would It Say’. Tonight Røry also continued to use the time between songs to address and connect to her audience candidly, expressing and producing an open and supportive atmosphere, as she detailed the experiences and emotions behind her music, which has helped her garner recognition and appraisal in recent years, touching particularly on grief, loss and family relationships.
Despite her deeply emotional and moving stories, she countered these moments with genuine humour and entertaining moments, notably announcing the winner of her merch competition in a spoof tv game show style approach, and continuously maintaining witty sardonic remarks between anecdotes. It is evident she puts a lot of detail and care into her performances, and the subsequent safe and inclusive spaces she had built for her fans from this, as not only did she create this interactive element to her shows but also on the reverse side of the flyers handed out at the doors included information from UPRAWR mental health foundation on accessing support, showcasing Røry as not only just a strong, passionate and creative artist but even more a genuine, caring person. As the night continued, Røry and her backing musicians switched between heavy riffs, as they introduced her newest unheard song ‘Dead Girl Walking’, and more sorrowful tracks filled with intense raw emotions, such as ‘Jesus & John Lennon’ and ‘Hold On’, before the night was commended with an impassioned and well deserved round of applause.
Tonight showcased several talented performances from artists who are not only dedicated to their craft but to their shows and the communities they have helped create. Defences can be caught on their upcoming headline dates in parts of the United Kingdom in December, whilst Skydxddy will almost more than certainly be back in the country after she completed her own headline dates this November. Whereas Røry excitedly announced during her performance that she will be performing at Download Festival 2026 and will more likely be making several other appearances over the following year as she continues to grow.
