Lucy Dacus conquers nosebleeds and heartbreaks at the Islington Assembly Hall

Not only has the 23-year-old singer managed to establish her reputation as a rare talent with her sophomore record Historian, but 2018 has also seen Dacus join forces with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers to form supergroup boygenius. However, tonight, the Virginia native is celebrating something much more humble.

“I’m just glad I’ve made it this far without having a nosebleed” Lucy Dacus announces halfway through her set.

Dacus is plagued by nosebleeds, and a cursory look at her Instagram would confirm this. But if the 23-year-old was playing with the anxiety of having a repeat performance on stage, you wouldn’t have known it. She launches into ‘Addictions’ to start off the night and follows up with ‘The Shell’ and ‘Nonbeliever’ from her latest record. The tightness of her backing band is apparent; as is Dacus’ ability to drop a pearl of wisdom into basically anything she touches.

The impeccable sound quality inside the Islington Assembly Hall really helps to bring out the dynamics between loud and quiet that the band play with throughout her set. This is never more apparent than on Historian's lead single, ‘Nightshift’. As everyone packed into the vaunted auditorium hall sang: “You got a nine-to-five, so I’ll take the night shift” it was hard not to feel the goosebumps.