Skipping through the bustling blue of the City Centre, the gig room at Oporto on Friday night brimmed with excitement as I tucked myself into the sardine can that was the crowd of a sold-out headline show.
The silhouette of an oversized blazer appears, a statement piece of its wearer as she commanded the room. It’s fashioned by headliner Lois as she takes to the stage in anticipation of being one of many incredible acts supporting Independent Venue Week this year.
Her song “MINE” opens the evening with a tribute to taking ownership of what can so easily be stripped away from us; identity, self-image, past traumas and music are all integral things that independent artists can freely share. In this case, a song like ‘MINE’ makes for a cathartic anthem for releasing your past and going with the flow. I’m always left with a warm, fuzzy feeling at a gig when I hear an “I love this next song!” while accidentally eavesdropping.
Lois as a pop project has been a work in progress long before the emboldened moniker even existed. The mastermind behind it, Lois Kyle, is a Morecambe native who moved to Liverpool for music college, defying the small town standards of “getting a real job” by later pursuing the dream in the creative epicentre of Leeds:
“All I wanted to do was music and I came from a place where being creative wasn’t very cool or anything like that… I was doing a lot of top lining for drum and bass producers, which is hilarious. But that taught me how to do production at home and record my own vocals. And then when I started recording, I was like, oh, I really love recording.”
With a history of opening for pop contemporaries like Pixey, Etta Marcus and Yorkshire’s own Ellur, she recalls how playing with them left her awestruck and pushed her to be on their level:
“I remember just wanting to be there already. Wanting to find the fast track way of doing it and going, ‘What am I missing?’ But it’s literally just time. You just keep going and things will happen.”
Her band are marked by her signature blue in the form of ribbons, a symbol of their commitment. Formed at Leeds Conservatoire, Lois describes them as her best friends and how moments of doubt, near-misses and the sting of watching opportunities pass by have ultimately made them stronger:
“I’d be like, ‘I wanna go and tour, no one’s putting me on tour.’ Okay, I’ll just do my own tour then. And I think that switch of like, I’m not gonna let somebody else be in control of what I want to do as an artist is like… everything.”
That DIY ethos feels particularly poignant within the current climate. We discussed the struggles of touring as a grassroots artist:
“I keep seeing news of artists pulling out of touring because they can’t afford it, and it’s heartbreaking. These are like celebrities; how the hell am I supposed to do it?”
But Lois is also a reminder of why grassroots culture matters. Working with local promoter Futuresound, she curated an evening built on friendship and community as much as performance. Her name glimmers in the local scene because of it. Her newly founded Project Phoenix, which aims to bring together artists from underrepresented backgrounds, is a beacon for many. From raising funds for Leeds Women’s Aid to supporting a friend’s gender-affirming surgery and hosting pop-up stalls for International Women’s Day, Lois speaks about advocacy with the same passion she applies to songwriting.
It’s no surprise that support acts Char and Eve Buckley felt so perfectly placed on the bill. Char’s music cuts you open in the gentlest way, unpicking themes of vulnerability and self-worth with razor-sharp lyricism. Meanwhile, Eve Buckley’s jazz-inflected voice reverberates off empty pint glasses and warms the room with enough soul to still even the most restless chatter at the bar. Together, they set the tone for a night that felt intentional and lovingly curated.
“I’m just a phoenix before it falls.” With her new project, Lois is embracing change, a theme threaded through her latest EP, ‘SEVEN’, which sees her admitting her downfalls and surrendering to inevitable transformation.
“I love everything camp and extroverted and silly and tongue in cheek. I think the last two projects have been very confessional and very like, ‘this is my experience’ and I wanna write this to understand myself better. Whereas this next project is like, let’s just have some fun, let’s just dance.”
Her words signal a move away from raw sincerity towards something more playful. Rather than dissecting every wound, she’s choosing joy and forward movement this time.
The night closed on a surprise sneak peek of this new era, with a full-band debut of ‘Small Town Party Girl’. Channelling the likes of Madonna, Grace Jones and even a touch of Talking Heads, LOIS sets out on a mission to craft bold, dancefloor-ready tracks inspired by Northern middle-aged women’s humour.
“I’ve grown up being surrounded by all these super strong, confident women that are basically just like gay men on the inside,” she laughs. “I wanted it to feel like music you’d hear playing in a little working men’s club at your mum’s 50th.”
It’s joyous, theatrical and knowingly kitsch, but beneath the camp exterior lies the same determined artist who once wondered what she was missing, and is now the one who took control of her fate to make it all happen independently.
There’s still a chance to catch LOIS live on her tour, with dates including 9th March at The Castle Hotel in Manchester, 12th March at London’s Folklore, and a support slot for Charlotte OC at The Grand in Clitheroe on 7th March.
FFO: having fun, 80s camp, dancing.
