Role Model LIVE IN LONDON: 1D Star Steps out As ‘Sally’ On Night Two

Role Model, live at Eventim Apollo. Photo credit: Bethany Cordery

‘It was the best concert I’ve ever been to… and I’ve seen Harry Styles.’

That was the conclusive review of one delighted young fan, in a chaos of cowboy hats, bows and bandanas leaving the venue, after Role Model performed his second sold out night at the Eventim Hammersmith Apollo in London yesterday.

See The Groove’s best photos of the night here.

Support came from British songwriter, Chloe Slater, emerging from her cocoon of bedroom pop to more outspoken territory, with chilling new single, ‘War Crimes’, that could catapult her into the public eye. Fans at the front sang along to ‘Harriet’ and screamed the words back to angsty, landlord-hating ‘Death Trap’. It’s fair to say, though, that the audience only had eyes for one artist last night.

High-pitched screams welcomed Role Model on stage, kicking things off with ‘Writing’s On The Wall’, the first track on Valentine’s Day album ‘Kansas Anymore’, which propelled the American beyond his hardcore fan base, and onto some of the US’ biggest stages and TV performance slots this year.

Tucker Pillsbury wears his heart on his sleeve, in his music and on stage. Taking in his audience of teenage girls and young women dutifully repeating every in-joke, he grinned like a boy with an ice cream for the entirety of his performance. ‘We’re gonna keep playing some songs for you divas, is that ok?’ In the palm of his hand, fans screamed, cried, and shouted each catchy chorus back, often drowning him out with their collective force. A failsafe barometer of popularity for Gen Z; phones remained up, everywhere, for every single song.

Previously, the ladies toilets had been a bubble of excited chatter over who ‘Sally’ could be – Role Model’s highly popularised segment where a fan, now more often a celebrity, is brought on stage to embody the imaginary diva. And one or two did guess it – an earsplitting roar burst through the room as Niall Horan stepped out, red party cup in hand. 

The loudest part of the show by about 50 decibels, it’s easy to picture artists becoming reticent, even jealous, at a special guest’s 30 second appearance generating the most noise. But you get the sense that Role Model is just happy to be a part of it, adorning the bashful smile of someone who can’t quite believe they’ve got here – as much as the audience can’t either. In his music, he often positions himself as the supporting character, the worse half of a relationship, the underdog. 

Role Model may be known for his viral TikTok moments, but beneath the fleeting audio trends, there’s exceptional lyricism scattered across his music. ‘I will read this song like it’s a story’, Pillsbury says, before stooping on a stool to recite the poem of ‘Something, Somehow, Someday’ from his ‘performative journal’. It’s a crisp, compelling character study delivered as a nursery rhyme, without falling into gimmick. ‘The Dinner’ borrows from country’s storytelling structure to portray Pillsbury’s out of place-ness in hellishly bright Hollywood lights, with not-so-subtle swipes: ‘New England-born and raised / where the common sense is common as a nose job in LA.’

“ ...whilst I can’t imagine a world where strangers could tell other strangers about the minutiae of my last relationship, Role Model looked happy to have his anecdotal lyrics sung back at him with knowing smiles.”

‘Frances’ live was an aching depiction of the fallout of two people finding the spotlight simultaneously. In the stalls, fans are eager to earnestly fill me in on the lyrical easter eggs, referring to his equally high-profile ex. Rather than an exclusive or territorial atmosphere, there was a tangibly heartwarming feel to it all. And whilst I can’t imagine a world where strangers could tell other strangers about the minutiae of my last relationship, Role Model looked happy to have his anecdotal lyrics sung back at him with knowing smiles.

His stage presence minimal but effective, Pillsbury moved with an easy groove to ‘Slipfast’. ‘My hips work’, he said to more screams, before the languorous ‘Some Protector’ saw the 28-year-old shuffle around like he was at home, eased into ‘Old Recliners’.

Helped in part by the shadowed silhouettes of his band slow-stepping to the lazy guitar that summoned the dry heat of dusty summer nights, this and final track ‘Deeply Still In Love’ were two standouts.

Apart from a few guitar switches, the country-twanged indie pop sound did not stray far, the songs similar to the untrained ear. But it’s hard to critique that when the artist and crowd are having so much fun – hard not to enjoy a gig when the whole audience is viscerally rooting for its performer.

“Role Model is exactly that: a refreshing, masculine voice that celebrates women, vulnerability and community. It’s no secret the world needs more figures like him to look up to.”

Role Model has found himself at the centre of a collective that adores him. With a softness in his music that seeps into the live performance, and a charming persona that often steps back to share the limelight, Role Model is exactly that: a refreshing masculine voice that celebrates women, vulnerability and community. It’s no secret the world needs more figures like him to look up to.

Role Model on tour, performing his second night in London at Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith. Image credit: The Groove