Photos and review by Rose Riot Photography
This past June, while indulging in summer break from teaching elementary school photography, I was scrolling Facebook as one does, when I saw a post from a sweet friend about maybe going to see an artist named Yungblud perform in Atlanta. I hadn’t seen my sweet friend since she took me to the Deftones a few years ago. With my college graduation (after five long years!) just weeks away, my “f*ck it switch” for freedom and having fun was warming up. That day, it was really warm.
I clicked her link and saw this British rocker boy with an intense gaze and a bratty-punk vibe. Adorable. I told her I’d go. Even if I didn’t know his music, I figured I’d have fun. Eighty dollars later, I had a ticket with no clue as to how much he’d change my life.
What started as curiosity became obsession. Each time I clicked a song, I expected not to like it but found myself into it. Each time I watched an interview, I braced for cringe but instead found honesty, intelligence, and vulnerability. My doom scrolling quickly became “Dom scrolling.” I was catching feelings for this boy.
Like many women my age, my rock star crush memories were resurfacing. I was immediately taken back to when I was 12 and saw my first concert, Adam Ant. Ant was my first and longest rockstar crush. Ant was a man whose masculine energy didn’t threaten me but rather intrigued me. I was terrified of most men but not Ant. He was pretty and wore make up and ruffles but had this undeniable sexual ardor that tapped on my hormonally awakened shoulder. His clothes validated my sense of style; he made music that danced inside me and made me want to kick and scream my way into adulthood. Ant was my vehicle into becoming a creative and sexual being.
My husband, a rock drummer, joined me in my infectious obsession. It was his suggestion we play Yungblud’s “I Was Made for Loving You” KISS cover at our vow renewal, we dressed up and made Yungblud inspired fashion content, I started calling him “Oldblud.” We got matching black heart tattoos for our 13th anniversary. My husband is now a proud member of the black heart army right along beside me.
This is the part that is hard to talk about, it was also around this transitional time of my life that I had my first and hopefully only mental breakdown. The past 5 years of life had included a pandemic, an empty nest, grad school, a new stressful but awesome job, a massive natural disaster almost killed us and destroyed our home, menopause (if you know you know) and a recent ADHD and ED diagnosis and treatment plan, the summer of 2025 found me at a massive life transformation. The result was an out of the blue and surprise mental breakdown that happened one evening when I was cooking dinner. I was stirring something in a pot when suddenly, every molecule of trauma and change exploded in my brain and the next thing I knew I was on the floor crying, kicking, and screaming and not in the cool Adam Ant kind of way. Me, the person that had always been able to mask and (mostly) keep it together was completely out of control and on the floor. It was terrifying. Fortunately, I got help, I have support, and I am going to be okay.
As I was figuratively picking myself up off the floor, I found myself exclusively listening to Yungblud music for comfort and preparation for his show. Yungblud’s music is known for expressing personal honesty about his own struggles with being “othered” and mental health. My young self was listening and healing right along with my current self as he shared his vulnerability and said all the things “both me’s” needed to hear a man say. I was becoming a better and stronger version of the person I was always meant to be. For that, I will always be thankful for and hold this 28-year-old sweet angel baby from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England in my heart.
The ticket to see Yungblud live had originally been purchased on a lark fueled by a new sense of freedom had become a countdown to seeing my self-discovery sherpa in person.
The day came on September 2nd, right after a ridiculously delightful holiday weekend with my husband, “Oldblud.” I had designed and sewed my concert outfit inspired by punk icon and designer, Vivianne Westwood (who undoubtedly inspired some of Yungblud’s looks). Armed with the confidence of a “slayed fit,” and my newly purchased fancy phone just for this event (in case I didn’t get the photo press pass I had requested), I got to the venue after work around 5pm. I parked and walked across the street to The Tabernacle, greeted by a line that was already two blocks long, two hours before the doors opened. I have attended and photographed close to 100 shows at this venue, and I had never seen this many people this early. I was to meet my “sweet friend” and by the time she got there at 6, the line was wrapped around the building from entrance to exit. I spent two hours becoming acquainted with my new black hearts club mates. I met a woman who had driven from Chattanooga, Tennessee with instructions from her teen children and husband to go have the time of her life. My other line mates were a father and his 8-year-old daughter. Me, being a kid magnet, practically Mary Poppins, the 8-year-old and I bonded quickly. She was adorable as we discussed our favorite Yungblud hairstyles and songs, we had a lot in common.
The two hours went by surprisingly fast thanks to the pleasant weather and captivating conversation. They started letting people into the venue and as expected within a few minutes the barricade area was full and the floor quickly filled up an hour before the opening act, Sawyer Hill. Sawyer went on and received positive head bobs and foot tapping from the crowd. His giant smile and stage presence were delightful. The crowd there to see Yungblud, seemed genuinely entertained by Sawyer Hill.
Then came the opening bars of Hello, Heaven Hello. Everyone including myself burst into Beatle-mania like screams and I had to fight back tears. The floor of the once Church, flexed with the jumps of 1500 members of the black heart army. The tight and well-rehearsed band appeared on a simple stage with minimal decor, then came “the boy” we had all been waiting for. In another Beatle-mania moment, I couldn’t fight it, and tears filled my eyes. There he was, the phenom, the bright star, the charismatic sexy “punkpoprock” impish angel. His entrance could best be described as shot from a flame thrower as he shot into the air onto the stage, then proceeded to go back and forth across the stage like a captive animal. He made short work of his leopard print vest and sunglasses and spent the rest of the evening wearing only his signature stage look, black leather pants and chaps minus the few minutes during the show that he teased and ignited the crowd by pulling his bands down just enough to reveal the cutest little bum.
I heard Yungblud described recently as audacious; this would be accurate. In an era where masculinity is a hot button topic for many reasons, there is something refreshing to me about seeing a person with positive masculine energy be able to push those limits. I haven’t seen this much sexual prowess and spirit envelope a crowd in a very long time, maybe decades. As a feminist type of person, I was surprised at how happy this made me. The band’s interaction was understated but not in a bad way. It was as if the right side of the stage containing Silke Blansjaar on bass, and Sam Simmonds on guitar preferred standing a bit back and not being the center of attention. I got a similar impression from Ben Sharp on drums and Katie Dove Dixon on keyboards, they were doing their thing and doing it quite well but didn’t draw any attention to themselves. On the left of the stage there was Adam Warrington: Lead Guitars. Warrington has been said to be Yungblud’s creative partner, sometimes roommate and best friend. Warrington’s renaissance man guitar sound is a spectrum of flowery to chunky. There was a definite bond between them, but Warrington is for sure the straight man to ‘Blud’s high potent presence.
The evening went on to produce Yungblud doing some signature live performance moves like pulling a fan up on stage to play Fleabag, lighting and smoking a cig, crowd surfing, lots of gyrations, a myriad of intense facial expressions that and crazy eye contact connections that he is known and loved for, throwing kisses and lots of adorable smiles and head shakes over his apparent disbelief that “this is really happening.” ‘Blud and the band performed a mix of old and new which I’m sure pleased both Yungblud the old-schoolers and the newbies. He infused bold confidence with humbleness, all with the vigor of a hyperactive child. His voice was immaculate and precise, that giant mouth makes giant and powerful sounds. His eyes magnetized and locked onto our very souls. Yungblud guided us and we followed. He was perfect.
