Fresh off the back of several energetic festival performances here in the UK, American-singer songwriter KennyHoopla was set to play his biggest ever headline show to date at a near sold-out Manchester Academy 2. The rockstar is rapidly becoming known for his outlandish performances and is most definitely an artist that you need to see live in order to understand the talent and potential this man has. The pop-punk musician is a natural when it comes to performing live and simply owns any stage that he sets foot onto. The 24-year-old released his single “Dirty white vans”, produced by the legendary Travis Barker, earlier this year and was KennyHoopla’s first musical release since the ‘Survivors Guilt: The Mixtape’ which he published in 2021. We were lucky enough to catch this very special moment in KennyHoopla’s career and witnessed the star live in the flesh at the Manchester Academy. Support for the night came from the talented Jordan Adetunji.
With the UK being hit with a very rare heatwave and temperatures rising across the country it only meant that this gig was guaranteed to be a hot and sweaty one, pair that with the energy and vibes produced from a KennyHoopla concert and you have what can only be described as pure unfiltered chaos. KennyHoopla took to the stage and immediately had the crowd and venue rocking as screams filled the packed-out Manchester Academy. Kenny dived across the stage throughout the night like a ball of energy that had just been unleashed and he got right in the face of those who were lucky enough to be in the front-row on numerous occasions. The musician took plenty of time in-between songs to thank the crowd in attendance and it was clear that the rising star was grateful for those following him on this rollercoaster of a journey. KennyHoopla would go on to play fan favourites from his discography throughout the night like,”Estella”, “Hollywood Sucks” and “Smoke Break” before diving into one of the wildest performances of a song I’ve ever seen at this venue in all my years of visiting the Manchester Academy. When the time came to perform his most successful track “how will I rest in peace if i’m buried by a highway?” KennyHoopla orchestrated a giant mosh pit in the centre of the crowd and joined them in the process, performing the song from the crowd surrounded by his adoring fans. It was simply wild and most definitely a highlight in this rising stars’ career. I for one can’t wait to see what KennyHoopla’s future looks like as it certainly seems very bright, and hopefully he can prove this right with a debut studio album sometime soon.
KENNY HOOPLA
Photos + Review by Lewis Roberts |Exclusively for Music, Why Not!
