Bella White

Pictures and Words: Justine Brown

Way back in 2023 I was listening to a Spotify playlist of artists scheduled to appear at the inaugural Fairwell Festival in Oregon, when I heard a song called "Break my Heart" by Bella White. I was immediately struck by Bella’s unique sound and lyrics. Naturally, I dug deeper, and it just kept getting better.

While she's just 25 years old, Bella channels a kind of early raw country western sound that took me back to the records my parents listened to growing up (think Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, Rosanne Cash.) Fast forward to today and I've been a devoted fan ever since, digging into all the Bella White music I could find. And of course, I have been watching her tour dates to see when she might get close enough to see live again. (I prefer the term "dedicated fan." My attorney prefers it too.) Her set at Fairwell Festival was great, but that was now three long years ago — which, in devoted-fan years, is basically a decade — and in a music festival setting. So, I was quite excited when I saw her name pop up to play a night at the tiny Folsom Hotel (capacity ~100 — which is to say, you're basically in her living room). This would definitely be a chance to see more of Bella and in a more intimate setting than the festival.

Just this last Saturday the day had arrived, and Bella didn't disappoint. After a brief but fully entertaining set by Sam Gelband, who later doubled as Bella's drummer, Bella took the stage, opening with my personal favorite, "Numbers," a song off of her 2023 album, Among Other Things. I'm not sure exactly what Bella had in mind when she wrote "Numbers," but it seems to me it's about finally getting that success you've been striving for only to realize it's either not what you imagined it would be or simply doesn't feel like enough. Definitely relatable.

The night just got better from there. Not only because we were able to get so dang close that we were almost on stage with her, but also because she sounded great. Though it was just Bella and Sam (missing some of the great fiddle on some of her songs), they were more than enough to fill the place with great music. 

And though she's just 25, she's definitely got that "old soul" vibe and sound. Highlights for me were "Broke" (which Bella called her "mommy/daddy divorce song), "Do you Think About Me At All," which really pulls on those old country/western/bluegrass strings (pun intended), and her cover of Jeff Tweedy's "Nobody Dies Anymore." Bella's also not afraid to show her vulnerable side, as was evidenced when she openly admitted she forgot the lyrics to one of her own songs for a minute. (We tried to rescue her by pulling them up on the phone, but by then everyone had had a laugh and she moved on to the next song.)

The venue was sold out, and everyone seemed to hang on her every haunting vocal, which reminded me how challenging it must be to get up in front of a room full of people and perform, especially at that age. But she did it beautifully, and I enjoyed every minute, even with a slight twang of anxiety throughout the show that the three drunk young men in the front might teeter into the stage and take Bella out with them. Fortunately, they did not, though it remained a constant source of suspense for the evening.