Noah Cyrus performs at 9:30 Club on Oct. 21, 2022. (Words and photos by Brooke Landers)

Noah Cyrus led the crowd in a declaration of solidarity in a near gospel-driven performance, with an audience of all ages singing along to her thoughtfully forlorn lyrics in a recent sold-out show at 9:30 Club.

In The Hardest Part Tour, Cyrus laid out her latest album, The Hardest Part, emphasizing the album’s folk and country undertones, while covering “I’ll Fly Away” and songs from The Chicks.

At 9:30 Club on Oct. 21, Noah performed songs from her latest album to illustrate encounters with addiction and loss, yet Cyrus managed to instill hopefulness and optimism in her audience. Her angelic stage presence was accentuated by a pedal lap guitar and soft accompanying vocals, which quietly backed her recollections of such hardships.

At 9:30 Club, Cyrus not only carefully handled the captivation from her devoted fans but those accompanying the typical Noah Cyrus fan were seemingly drawn in just as much as the most loyal fan in the venue. Mothers, boyfriends, siblings, and fathers alike all leaned in to hear what Cyrus had to say, as if they were understanding something they weren’t able to grasp until Cyrus sang it herself.

The feeling of solidarity and togetherness ironically came from a song deeper into the setlist titled “Lonely” from her latest album. Gospel undertones radiated through this song, as the audience seemingly took an unspoken queue to hold each other and belt along to the raw and relatable lyrics.

Watch the official music video for “Lonely” by Noah Cyrus on YouTube:

Noah created an atmosphere for every audience member to feel vulnerable enough to receive lyrics like those from “Lonely” and “Loretta’s Song,” in which she confronted the loss of her grandmother. The latter song also emanated gospel energy, as Cyrus preached letting go of things and having faith in seeing a lost loved one again, while the pedal lap guitar softly elevated her vocals.

Cyrus carried such a consistent vitality through her whole show that there never really seemed to be an intro or climax; the audience was immediately swept away into her atmosphere of camaraderie through the folk and gospel sounds of The Hardest Part.

My photos may only portray brief glimpses into Noah Cyrus’s musical powerhouse of a show at the 9:30 Club, but perhaps a brief glimpse is all it takes to understand her angelic omnipresence on stage.

Here are some photos of Noah Cyrus performing at 9:30 Club on Oct. 21, 2022. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Brooke Landers.