Hannah Wicklund – A Tour de Force

Live at The Forum, Tunbridge Wells – Thursday 8 October 2026

Review & photos By Alastair and Kirsty Middlemist

A small but enthusiastic crowd greeted Hannah Wicklund at The Forum in Tunbridge Wells on Thursday evening, and it was clear from the off that they genuinely wanted to be there. Some, we suspect, had first discovered her at the Maid of Stone festival and liked what they heard enough to come looking for more. It was not a packed house, but what the room lacked in numbers it more than made up for in attention. Anyone who stayed at home missed something special.

There was no easing in. Before the main set had even started, Wicklund played a fantastic bluesy guitar solo, full of great riffs, and it worked as a statement of intent. Before a single word had been sung, the audience knew exactly what it was dealing with: a guitarist first and foremost, and an incredible one. It is a bold way to begin a show when plenty of people have come for the voice, but it paid off, setting the tone for everything that followed. Nobody in the room needed to be told they were in the presence of real talent; it was there in every note, and the small crowd leaned in accordingly.

Then came the voice, and with it the songs. “Ghost” and “Too Close to You” were early highlights for us, and they showed just how much Wicklund can do with a vocal – powerful and controlled, but what really stays with you is how much feeling she packs into them. It is a very emotional voice, one that sounds as though it has lived a thousand lives, and there were moments when it felt as though she was baring her soul in front of us, holding nothing back. We can only guess at what that costs a performer night after night, but it never once sounded rehearsed.

One song in particular stayed with us: “Psychobabble.” Wicklund framed it as a song that could describe the world as it is right now, especially America today, and that introduction gave it extra weight. It was one of the moments where she spoke to the audience, and it showed that her writing looks outwards as well as inwards. Delivered with that voice and that guitar, it landed hard.

Her guitar playing deserves a paragraph of its own. It is easy to appreciate a musician’s level of skill without necessarily loving the music, and Wicklund is a perfect example: she is so accomplished that even someone who disliked the songs (and we certainly did not) could happily lose themselves in the playing alone. The guitar sang, cried, screamed and bled. It did not feel like an accompaniment to the vocals so much as a second voice, answering the first and sometimes shouting over it. That opening solo had hinted at what was coming, but across the full set it became clear just how complete a musician she is. Technique, feel and fearlessness were all there at once, which is a rarer combination than it should be. Whether the music was slow and smouldering or loud and urgent, the playing always seemed to know exactly what the moment needed, and that is the mark of an accomplished guitarist rather than simply a fast one.

Wicklund is not the chattiest of artists. She did interact with the audience, but she was happy to let the music carry the night. That will not suit everyone, and anyone who likes a frontperson who fills the gaps with banter may have wanted more. We did not miss it. In a room of this size, the lack of small talk felt less like distance and more like focus, as though she had come to play and trusted the songs to make the connection for her.

That connection was the real strength of the evening. There is a difference between a singer who performs emotion and one who seems to be living it, and Wicklund firmly belongs in the second group. Whether it was a slow-burning moment or a full-throttle one, the intensity never dipped, and the small crowd responded in kind. In a room this size there is nowhere for a performer to hide, and Wicklund had no need to. It is the kind of attention a performer earns rather than demands, and for a crowd that size to give it so readily says a great deal about both the strength of the material and the commitment of the delivery.

If we have a reservation, it is simply that more people should have been there. A performer this good deserves a bigger room, and on this evidence it should not be long before she gets one. For those who caught her at Maid of Stone, Thursday was a chance to see what a full set from her really looks like, and it did not disappoint. For everyone else, it was a reminder of why it is worth turning out on a weeknight for an artist you have only half heard of.

Ultimately, this was a performance that stayed with us long after we left The Forum. Hannah Wicklund sings and plays like her life depends on it, and watching her, it is hard not to wonder whether perhaps it does. Skilled, raw and utterly committed, she is an artist to catch live at the first opportunity, and if she is coming to a venue near you, go.