Mitch Rowland•October 6, 2023• The Troubador• West Hollywood California
Reviewed and Photographed by Joslin Keim
A guitarist known for his affiliation with a certain British pop star, a plethora of fans who discovered him through said British pop star’s recent tour, a historic Los Angeles venue with the name “Mitch Rowland” on the top of the marquee sign — this was the backdrop for Mitch Rowland’s headlining show at the Troubadour celebrating his debut album “Come June.”
With backing from none other than Harry Styles himself, not to mention music industry heavyweights like Rob Stringer and Jeffrey Azoff, Rowland seems to be set up as no ordinary breakout. And for fans who have caught him on the recently-completed Love on Tour with Styles, Rowland’s night at the Troubadour revealed a side of him that was mellow, more intimate in sound and in speech.
As a dedicated Harry Styles fan, I was really excited to see what Rowland would be like when he was the center of the night. How different would the energy be when he’s the main creator of it? When he’s being backed by his own band rather than being part of the backing band?
Wine glass in hand, and talking more than he ever has on stage before, Rowland crafted a picturesque sound and palpable, energetic night.
Rowland’s opener played a quick 30-minute set. Cheers for celebrity sightings like TikToker Brittany Broski broke up the lengthy wait between the opener and Rowland finally taking the stage. Love on Tour affiliates like singer-songwriter Madi Diaz, trainer Brad Gould and drum tech Kodi Bramble received cheers and semi-incognito iPhone photos as well.
This is where I was not so thrilled with my fellow fans of Styles. A room holding an audience that discovered one artist through another would naturally bring up that “original” artist. I wasn’t at all surprised to hear conversations mentioning Styles. What I was surprised by was the centering of Styles, both in these overheard conversations and throughout Rowland’s set.
Would Styles be in the audience? Would he make an appearance onstage? A few fans mentioned only being there because they assumed Styles would come out and play with Rowland. Whether because the two are friends and musical collaborators or because Styles lent background vocals on Rowland’s song “Here Comes the Comeback.”
Between the “I love you”s and “That’s my mom and dad” jokes about Rowland and his wife, drummer Sarah Jones, who was onstage with him, there were calls for crowd favorites of Styles’ songs — “Grapejuice” being the most requested. It hurt my heart a little bit to see a night taken over, even for small moments, by someone who was not even attending the show.
There’s no right or wrong reason to be at a concert, but I think there’s something to be said about attending a show for the chance of gaining clout within a fandom rather than being there to support an artist’s emerging career. Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox and back to the review.
The crowd favorite was “Here Comes the Comeback,” as evident from both the cheers that erupted in the room and from the band’s rather up-tempo playing. Out of all the tracks Rowland played, this was the one that had the most audience members singing.
Throughout the night, I was reminded over and over of Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” album from 1972. I especially heard the resemblance during “Bluebells,” the second song of the night. Perhaps it’s the fault of Rowland’s open-tuned guitar, a technique he has said was inspired by Nick Drake, or perhaps it’s the nostalgia for an era of folk music that was before my time.
If this night could be considered a snippet of what the Troubadour was back in the long-romanticized days of Laurel Canyon songwriting sessions and 1970s folk rock, then I finally understand how that narrative came to be formed. This was history, this was witnessing a moment that would never be there again. Hearing music and hoping to be changed by each melody.