Hailing from London (and from a musical family – her dad was in UK prog outfit IQ) but growing up in Ryton, Lizzie Esau is still only 25 but has achieved a great deal since bursting onto the Newcastle scene in 2020. She’s now signed to LAB Records – also home to The Ks and Dead Pony – and has a remarkable string of supports and festivals to her name: bands like Beabadoobee, The Amazons, and stages like Glastonbury Festival, BBC’s Big Weekend, and Stockton Calling, which fans will be thrilled to hear she’ll be returning to in a well deserved headline slot this year. Esau’s music isn’t easy to pigeonhole – she has one foot in an indie pop style but her other is stomping its way into a rockier category, with admitted influences from the likes of Royal Blood, Kings Of Leon and Wolf Alice, and she’s even spoken of an R&B influence, citing artists like Little Simz. And don’t forget that Yardbirds/Bo Diddley cover of I’m A Man. Lyrically she veers into a confessional, singer-songwriter vein, and isn’t afraid to get up close and personal with frank songs covering topics like imposter syndrome, gaslighting, drinking, abuse and even environmental issues. Last year’s five-track Spilling Out The Truth EP got her best reviews yet – Esau herself thinks it’s the fiery little sister to her previous EP and is even more soul-baring. And of course it contains She’s A Scorpio, probably the highlight of any Esau set and one that’s set to take the roof off in Stockton in April. (Lee Fisher)
Lizzie Esau
