With his first ever headlining tour, Anella turned The End into a house party on Oct. 21. This North Carolina native blends a mix of rap, country and alternative music to create a unique sound and experience for his growing audience that is fun, comfortable and familiar.
During our conversation before he went on stage, Anella showcased his natural aptitude for genuine southern hospitality, authenticity, a little silliness and just loving what he does. This was especially present when talking about his music and himself.
“The music I make is good. I would say that’s my genre, something enjoyable. A little fresh, a little nostalgic,” Anella said.
A large part of Anella’s show and our discussion overall was how comfortable and fun he wanted the space to be.
“We just threw a pregame. We throw a party before every show,” Anella said. We just hang out. So, I would say this is a pre-show ritual.”
This was complimented by the patio at The End where fans, friends, family and Anella’s team gathered to hang out before the show. Additionally, the smaller venue featuring a lot of stickers, names of past guests and history, really added to the feeling of being at a house party in your hometown.
Once I got in the venue, one of Anella’s openers, Zack Spade, began his set, which was similar to how Anella described his own music — genre-less. That said, Spade’s set leaned more into country and was reminiscent of Hardy, but with his own rap–heavy spin. With “Square 1,” a song that talked about starting from the bottom and working your way up, Spade really got the first few audience members to interact and start to get excited for the rest of the show.
Anella’s second opener, Norfside Mike, also hails from North Carolina and brought in the typical sounds, beats and lyrics of the rap genre. With Norfside Mike’s set, more audience members started filing in as his music gained both volume and energy. One song that really brought the audience in was “Good Die Young,” which was a bit on the slow side, but relatable, and even had people swaying with their phone flashlights on.
Overall, both openers lent themselves to different sides of Anella’s music, which adequately prepared fans for the main set.
Anella’s entrance to the stage was a great example of how he worked with the audience. Anella’s DJ came out playing multiple songs like Shaboozy’s “Bar Song” and “Nothin’ On You” by Bruno Mars to test the waters with the audience and find a way to get them as hyped as possible. Anella came on with a high, playing “Tennessee Love Song,” which had more of a country flair, and “WONDER,” an upbeat, more R&B style song with a simple repeated line of “Is it too much?” Then, keeping the energy on the rise, Anella sang a song about confidence, “Boujee Lennons.”
After a while, Anella slowed it down to thank the audience for coming to his show and to play some older tracks like “Accusations” to honor those who have been around for a while.
“I want to say how appreciative I am. It wouldn’t be possible without you,” Anella said.
From there, Anella went into what he described as a special part of the show.
“So, my favorite part of my show is when we do the unreleased music. It’s something new for you. When I play unreleased music, it is still very, very vulnerable, like not perfect,” Anella said. “That’s why we play them, to get people’s reactions, and I take lyrics very seriously in my music. So sometimes the good reactions aren’t the energetic ones. When everyone in the room is just eyes on me listening, like not moving, not speaking, they’re like, really taking in what I’m saying. I’m like, okay, these lyrics are powerful.”
One part of this section was his recently released song, “Without You,” which set Anella up perfectly to dive into a series of slower songs such as “Tequila,” which is an ode to heartbreak, and “Better Days,” which has a more optimistic tone.
Anella finished the show with rowdier songs like “Don’t Hit Me Up Now” and “Crashing This Party,” which encapsulated this overall theme of each show on the tour feeling like an intimate party, with the excitement of first arriving, then diving into smaller, deeper conversations and ending the night on a high. As a whole, watching Anella and his team build this house party atmosphere reminded me of the power that emerging artists hold in being able to still connect with their listeners in a more intimate way.
