9/27/2025
An Uplifting Day with Success Express at HowTheLightGetsIn Festival
BY KATIE HART
This weekend at HowTheLightGetsIn festival in London, I had the pleasure of covering the People’s Parlour stage put on by Success Express Music. Success Express is run by Lorraine Solomons, a music promoter with a drive for building community around small, but undoubtedly talented artists. The tent of the People’s Parlour provided a fantastic array of back-to-back music performances from morning to evening on both days of the festival, offering an intimate and cozy vibe as a respite from the hustle and bustle of the crowd.
On Sunday morning, two Americans and a New Zealander walked onto the stage and took us through three rounds of songs, each centered around writing themes: “Heartbreak Highway,” “Chords and Confessions,” and “Home and Away.” The singers performed a song related to the topic of the round and then explained the stories that inspired their songwriting.
Oli McKracken, hailing from Denver, Colorado, told stories inspired by the roads and trains of middle America. If his lyrics didn’t already do the trick, his voice and soulful delivery captivated the audience with each song. Oli tapped into deep emotion and retrospection around the journeys of the characters in his songs - whether they were himself, or a fantasy hitchhiker catching a ride on an empty boxcar, making his way home to his lover. For a moment, the audience could escape reality and feel the sense of adventure from the comfort of their floor cushions.
Susannah “Suze” Harper, the session’s host, managed to balance tones of heartbreak with humor and grace, blending a gruff, bluesy writing style with a truly beautiful vocal tone. From reflections on her time in the corporate world to her cover of a Māori song from her home country of New Zealand, she had the crowd singing along and feeling every lyric.
Chris Hart, new to London from his home in Atlanta, GA, was the third artist. Chris shared songs from his debut album, Anywhere, and explained the emotional highs and lows of moving to a new country. His finger-picking guitar style and smooth vocals left audience members on the edge of their seats (or pillow cushions), and Chris was invited back to the stage later in the day to share more of his originals. He shared love stories for both his wife and his new home in the UK.
Chloe Leigh & Jack Pout took all of us around the globe from the comfort of The People’s Parlour with an array of songs in different languages, played on instruments from different countries - from Turkey and Japan, to Ireland and Spain. The duo explained their stories of the world, sharing experiences with the audience, both borrowed and personal. Each song was performed with smiles so contagious that the audience had to do the same. Chloe and Jack’s harmonies complemented each other beautifully and had the listeners bobbing their heads throughout their entire set!
Fox Palmer created a darker folk-rock atmosphere in the tent by joining her acoustic guitar playing and intense voice with an electric guitarist as part of her duet. With her facial expression and lyrics, it was impossible to ignore her connection to the words and her focus on the deep emotion that each song brought to the stage.
Los Jestos, an improv duo who sang and rapped while playing guitar & djembe, drew a crowd and packed out the tent with their multi-genre comedy performance. The talented musicians had the crowd singing and clapping along to songs that they made up on the spot (in multiple languages) based on audience input. Each song was inspired by their current surroundings and the combined imagination of the people around them, which got people out of their seats and on their feet throughout the hour!
‘H’ is for Hawk, a seriously gifted singer-songwriter with an unserious attitude during his performance, created a light energy throughout his set. His vocal range is unlike any musician I’ve heard live, and he left it all on the stage through his connection to the music. Within moments, all onlookers were locked in and hanging onto each note, drawing more audience members into the People’s Parlour as his set went on.
Run Remedy and her two fellow musicians brought a sense of comfort to the stage. Her lyrics and smooth vocals tackled deep life challenges, like remembering a loved one or being put in a box, with grace and charisma. Between songs, Run Remedy could be caught with a nonchalant sense of humor, showing the audience that they could face challenges head-on while reminding them that life doesn’t have to be that serious.
Then, Run Remedy picked up her violin and joined the headliner, Daisy Chute, for her set. Daisy brought the evening to a close with a heartbreakingly beautiful set that left “London on fire.” Daisy covered topics such as historic and modern feminism with powerful vocals, harmonies, and a percussion instrument on each foot (in addition to the guitar in her hands). I found myself completely entranced during her songs and left in awe of how the event came to a magical close.
If you have not yet had the pleasure of attending one or multiple Success Express events, this is your call to action: come to London and see how Lorraine supports the independent music community - from philosophy conferences to intimate music venues - with passion and love.
