Gig review: HALESTORM’S LZZY AND JOE: UNPLUGGED- Islington Assembly Hall, London, 17 June 2026

June 28th, 2026 by andynathan

Halestorm have graduated over the years to being a major draw in their own right: their London show last winter was at the 02 and they have just headlined the second stage at Download. Smaller shows are now thin on the ground but I did attend one such in 2022 at Shepherds Bush Empire, a surprising highlight of which was an opening acoustic set. So an evening with singer Lzzy Hale and guitarist Joe Hottinger at one of my favourite London venues (ironically a year to the day since Brent and Zach from their contemporaries Shinedown did exactly the same) was an enticing prospect even on the night of England’s opening World Cup game.

They opened with ‘Amen’, though as people adjusted to the new format there was more a church-like hush with the odd voice softly joining in rather than the usual big singalong. Acoustic shows can be approached in a variety of ways, but this was as stripped down as they come, just Lzzy singing to some sparse chords from Joe. This brought out the songwriting quite starkly, beginning with a couple in ‘White Dress’ and ‘Bad Girl’s World’ with the messages of empowerment that have made her an icon for many of the younger women present in a crowd of mixed ages and sexes. Indeed on the latter song she sounded like a soul belter with a passionate adlib of ‘tell my sisters its going to be all right’.

In a varied dip into their catalogue, including ‘Do Not Disturb’, ‘Like A Woman Can’, and even debut album favourite, ‘Familiar Taste of Poison’,it was nice to be able to pick out the lyrics more clearly than with their usual live or even recorded counterparts. She was also a commanding host and compelling storyteller. After explaining how the band had always loved to play choice covers from an early stage, there were a couple (that I was unfamiliar with) that could not have been more different from each other in Little Big Town’s ‘Girl Crush’ and a Jeff Buckley ballad, ‘Lover You Should Have Come Over’, either side of their debut single ‘I Get Off’.

Joe is normally a silent figure on stage, but as the show progressed it became more of a genuine double act and his laid back good humour came out. It is easy to see how the two are personal as well as professional partners as he seemed a perfect foil for her more intense nature. After a joke that he was sometimes confused for her drummer brother Arejay, ‘The Silence’, dedicated to their relationship, took us up to a 20 minute interval.

If the first set had been impressive, greatness was reserved for a longer second set. It began in different fashion with Lzzy alone at a piano, introducing ‘Dear Daughter’, telling us about the support of her parents in forging a musical career, not to mention the classic bands they encouraged a love of, many of which we heard during an excellent playlist before the gig and during the break.

It was also interesting to hear more about the stories and lyrical messages than we would in a full on electric set. An example was ‘How You Gonna Remember Me’ which she wrote as her funeral song but with a message about being kind to others. As she finished the segment with the beautiful ‘Break In’ then ‘Shiver’, this was a fleeting glimpse of a parallel world where she made it as a Carole King style songwriter rather than full on rock chick.

With Joe restored to the stage and the piano put away, the rest of the set was in more familiar Halestorm territory with a bias towards favourites from their best album ‘The Strange Case of…’. During ‘Rock Show’ and ‘Ms Hyde’, the clap and singalongs became progressively louder, ‘Love Bites (So Do I)’ burst into a fast closing section and on ‘I Am the Fire’ and ‘Freak Like Me’, Lzzy’s singing became more raucous, Joe’s playing more intricate and frenetic and a forest of hands greeted the choruses.

After Lzzy described their pride at playing ‘Back to the Beginning’, I wondered if we might get ‘Perry Mason’, which they played on last year’s tour or another Ozzy song, but instead a fun ‘I Like It Heavy’ did nicely. She then mentioned they would bring on special guests- with anticipation high that some of the other stars of Download were in town, there was a danger of anti-climax when the first guest was Chris Turpin of Mirador, but the way his atmospheric acoustic slide guitar combined with Lzzy’s voice on a cover of ‘Gold Dust Woman’ was one of the highlights of the night.

Three became four with a second guest in Sid Glover, now a member of the Cruel Knives but on the same stage as a member of Heaven’s Basement when I first saw Halestorm at the Electric Ballroom in 2010, when both bands supported Theory of a Deadman. Joe asked Lzzy to ‘keep it down, okay’, at which point she truly screamed out the title of ‘I Miss the Misery’, the crowd singing along and a great climax when the three guitarists took turns with solos, albeit still in acoustic fashion. The core duo then ended a second set of well over an hour with their usual closer ‘Here’s to Us’, representing the real bond between them and their horn raising fans.

It had been a really interesting evening to see their catalogue interpreted in more intimate style, and learn more about their personalities and musical journey to date. Indeed, although this is to compare apples and oranges, I would go so far as to say I enjoyed it even more than their raucous electric shows. I hope they find time in their busy touring schedule to do it again some day.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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Power Plays w/c 22 June 2026

DELANEY FAULDS – Beautiful Again (indie)
ANY GIVEN SIN Until We Disappear (Mascot Records)
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DIAMOND RAIN Naked City (Pride & Joy Music)
DAEDRIC Sand Tiger (FiXT)
PARKER BARROW Nothin’ Left To Save (indie)

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09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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