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As Delilah Bon’s headline tour heads towards the home straight by the time it reaches Manchester’s own Deaf Institute, it brings with it a new found weight and brevity in the wake of the rights of women across the world. With the American election reaching its landmark conclusion, the importance of protecting body autonomy was put on the line for the first time since the historic turn of Roe V Wade, the abolition of the constitutionalised right to abortion in the US. More than ever, this tour has never felt so important or so inspiring.
Supporting Delilah was Tillie. A Georgia native who uses soft-rock and pop to speak her mind. Clad in a Harajuku-style suit, she was the perfect warm-up for the show, speaking words of advocacy for queer and women’s rights. Most of her songs encouraged her to speak about why she wrote them or her incoming UK headline tour in 2025. With a welcoming response from the crowd, she provided insight into the realities of growing up in a southern US state.
Whilst the sound mixing made it hard to understand her lyrics during her song, the energy from the set was cheery and calming. From what we could hear, her vocals were on point, as she (and her drummer) pushed through her set with ease. Tillie had a great stage presence which really made the set go quickly.
Delilah starts her set with a phone call from Harry Dick, which she later details as an amalgamation of right-wing men, usually from America, who actively criticise her music on the internet. Accompanied with her girls Ruena and Hela, she gets herself on stage for her explosive opener ‘Brat’ (and no… not the Charli XCX version) She seems to confront Harry head on with ‘Grown Ass Men’ which is a track about normalising masculine stereotypes with women. She then dedicated ‘Chiquitita’ to all the older women who should have divorced their husbands.
‘I Don’t Listen To You’ was a crowd pleaser, with most of the crowd loudly chanting the lyrics. Delilah vocally was impressive, rapping quickly with such clarity in the lyrics. ‘Bad Attitude’ -in the same vein- warmed up the crowd immensely, giving the opportunity to bring the energy, as a bubble gun started from the centre of the pit
A massive credit to Ruena and Hela for their performance, as they added so much depth to the set, as well as hyping up the crowd, with Ruena playing bass during some of the songs. When they performed as other characters, in vaudeville outfits with baseball bats for ‘Clown’, which as a deeper cut for Delilah went down immensely well with the crowd, they enhanced the atmosphere of the song. When they came out as policemen, torches shining and booking members of the crowd for ‘Freak Alert’, they wore skirts with dildos on them and threw a giant inflatable phallus around. Inevitably, the pair were celebrated by Delilah in ‘My Girls’.
‘The Internet’, a standout track from Delilah’s ‘Evil Hate Filled Female’ album is next. LGBT+ flags were raised in tribute to queer solidarity. Making sure queer people have a voice is an important part of Delilah’s music (as discussed in our latest magazine issue!) and feature heavily in her lyrics. She makes sure everyone feels welcomed at her shows, with Safe Gigs For Women in attendance. Her heartfelt song ‘War On Women’ is dedicated to transgender women before she performs it. Bassist Ruena holds up her bass, showing the words “We will not be silenced” on the back.
The live shows also highlight all the immense work that goes into Delilah Bon, as she has made the outfits and her backdrop by herself. All the songs are created and produced independently without a label. Also massive shout out Delilah Bon’s mum who mans the merch stall and does social media for her daughter before and during her set. This tour is a labour of love.
Delilah finishes off her set with an ‘angry’ section of her shows. ‘I Wish a Bitch Would’, a song that incited a riot in France, was one of the loudest songs of the night. When Delilah Bon was asked to respond to this landmark decision of Roe V. Wade, she turned to songwriting and with impassioned rage by crafting ‘Dead Men Don’t Rape’, the self proclaimed “most important song of her career”. The outcome was nothing short of a Delilah Bon phenomenon, with her listeners using the song as a way to channel their emotions and let it speak on the impassion of their own bodies. At her shows, this has become a spectacle of solidarity, loud and confrontational. ‘Evil Hate Filled Female’ follows, with her final song ‘Maverick’ an impassioned song about self confidence is last, channelling all the aggressive energy into something deeply positive.
Words: Amber Brooks
Photos: Lizzie Jones
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