WAR CHILD 2024: DAY OF THE GIRL

Credit: Wiktoria Wolny

The Day of the Girl concerts are more than just good shows for London crowds, they’re a lifeline for girls and women surviving wars worldwide. This year, Bree Runway, Connie Constance, Matilda Mann, and RØRY performed intimate live shows across London to support War Child. The four concerts raised £103,500 for girls and women in war zones, providing essential services like education, therapy, and life-saving financial essentials.

The British singer and rapper Bree Runway kicked off the series of shows on October 8th at Lafayette the same day as RØRY did at 100 Club. The next day, Matilda Mann took the stage at Lafayette on October 9th, and closing out Day of the Girl in style, English alternative pop artist, Connie Constance played The Lexington on October 12th.

Matilda and RØRY spoke about their connections to War Child and the importance of it during their sets, also taking time to welcome War Child representatives on stage to go more in-depth about the charity.

RØRY, an artist known for her heartbreakingly candid songs about mental health, continuously emphasised how essential War Child is for women and children in war zones dealing with PTSD and trauma. Matilda also touched on it during her set. She encouraged donations after the show and passed the mic to War Child CEO Hellen Pattinson to talk about War Child’s work during the show.

Although the two artists hail from completely different genres, with RØRY creating experimental punk-rock and Matilda shining in acoustic indie bops, both demonstrated that girlhood is about resilience, passion, and healing.

Credit: Wiktoria Wolny

RØRY’s set at Oxford Street’s 100 Club was introduced by two acts: lleo and GIRLBAND!. lleo’s enthralling honesty about the unspoken realities of living with bipolar disorder, paired with unforgettable pop hooks, provided a great audible contrast with GIRLBAND!’s heavy drums and guitar. A self-described ‘formidable force for good’, this alternative three-piece kept the audience’s excitement as the venue filled up. Both acts encourage using music as a tool for self-expression, healing, and finding safe spaces, proving they were excellent support choices for RØRY.

Ahead of her tour in March 2025, she used this set to showcase songs from her upcoming album RESTORATION and more from her upcoming era about finding hope while working through struggle. She brought out fan favourites from previous releases, like ‘Jesus & John Lennon’, which is prefaced with a reminder from RØRY that “you paid to come here to cry” and an acoustic version of the vulnerable grief acknowledgement of “the apology i’ll never receive”. From this era, she performed her latest single ‘BLOSSOM’, a reminder that it’s possible to overcome what feels unbearable and prove that change is possible.

Taking a moment during the show, she asked audience members to raise their hands if they had lost someone. With a slow raise of hands, she reminded the audience “don’t make it weird, but take a look around and see that you’re not alone in this.” That led to songs like ‘Help Your Friends Get Sober’ and ‘ALTERNATIVE’, both ones reflect on RØRY’s grief and her journey with sobriety and healing.

She thanked her partner, Rich, in the back of the room and emphasised to all the people in the room that they deserve love and safe relationships, no matter what they’ve been through. With a lovingly out-of-time Happy Birthday sung to RØRY, the night ended with most of the audience searching for tissues and hugging the people they came with.

Credit: Wiktoria Wolny

The next evening’s show had Matilda Mann, supported by Ella Jinks and Liang Lawrence at Lafayette. Ella, known for her warm and bluesy indie-folk songs, started the night with her rich vocals and acoustic arrangements. Liang similarly stunned the audience with her love (and not-so-love) songs, cracking jokes with the audience before each song about the relatable tales behind each song.

Matilda bounced onto the stage a little after nine with guitar in hand, surprisingly chipper for someone who had travelled that morning from The Wallows tour. She started the show with ‘Paper Mache World’, a mid-tempo opener, perfect for easing her nerves and preparing the audience for a night of floating through love, confusion, and everything in between. All of her songs feature witty and smart lyricism paired with whimsical guitar and instrumentation, like ‘Say It Back’ and ‘Meet Cute’. Accidentally speeding through her set, Matilda combined old favourites, like ‘The Day That I Met You’ and ‘Stranger (For Now)’, with new unreleased songs like ‘See You Later’ and ‘Dazed and Confused’.

After a bashful goodbye, she reappeared suddenly, the realisation of her speeding up hitting her. Laughing at how “encores are like peekaboo for adults”, she closed out the night with bubbly-pop favourite ‘Bloom’. Before leaving the stage for the final time, she reminded everyone about her upcoming headline tour and told everyone they know about it and War Child’s initiatives.


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reviews, musicAlex Shukrimusic