by Alex Sansalone
Friday, Eliot Sumner took the stage at Milkboy in Philadelphia showcasing tracks off her most recent project, Early Reflections. Sumner was the second performance of three acts that night, the headlining act being indie rock band On and On. The opening act, was multi-instrumentalist Dosh. Dosh is a percussionist who uses samplers and looping pedals to his drum playing. His experimental sound would set up the electronic ambiance of the evening. The venue was boutique; big enough for spectators to dance but small enough that the show still felt personal. It was a great venue to appreciate the sound that Sumner was so visibly excited to share. I hadn’t seen her before, and I admittedly didn’t know too much about her prior to attending.
Sumner is the daughter of Police legend Sting and actress/producer Trudie Styler, but I quickly learned she is so much more than that. There was an indescribable energy that her presence brought to the stage as she jumped on it preparing for her act. “Everyone, come up front!” she playfully encouraged while the band finished their opening “rock & roll meets electronic” song.
The band’s set-list was as smooth as it was stimulating. Though the story behind each record wasn’t clear (not that it has to or should be), each song shared a distinctly separate journey Sumner has faced. It was amazing to witness the crowd’s unanimous reactions. When songs had a slightly more electronic feel, the crowd swayed left to right as one. When songs had a slightly more rock and roll feel to it, the crowd bopped their heads back and forth as one. Having been to dozens of concerts thus far in my life, I have never seen a more responsive crowd- especially to a band a majority of spectators hadn’t heard of. The reaction coming from the crowd this early in the performance gave me the heads up that I was in for a memorable experience. As the night continued, you could sense the level of love Sumner had for what she does. She was bursting with emotion throughout her performance. She has a huge voice. Her presence is matched only by her ambiance. You could feel both joy and pain in every high and low her voice hit. Her vocals transitioned from bouncing to the beat, to floating parallel with the instrumentals. All the while, jumping up and down with a heartfelt smile to each strum of her bass.
These days, there are many arguments in what constitutes great music. To me, a great record is one that you almost forget is blasting in the room your in. It fills a room and becomes the background soundtrack of the night; and that is undoubtedly the description of Eliot Summer’s 45 minute set.
After the show, I exchanged a few word with Sumner, sharing with her the immediate connection I had with her sound. She shared with me the secret to her mystic lyrics, “honesty.” We talked about the importance of following your passion and letting it guide you. I sat down with her with the intention of calling her out on the visibility that she loved what she does, but she beat me to it. “I’m living my dream and making a living doing what I love.”
On my way out, I asked several spectators what they thought of her show. Most answered that they were actually attending the show for On and On, the act following Sumner, yet they all fell in love with her music and would be looking into her. Eliot Summer is an act to keep your eye on, not because of who her father is, but because of how her sound is accumulating its fan base on contact.
