Jessie Murph wITH Henry Verus at the 9:30 Club

LIZZY BAUMMER (SHE/HER)

Jessie Murph arrived in DC on 10/31 for two back-to-back nights of sold out shows, and she brought along with her the incredibly talented Henry Verus. In true Halloween fashion he took the stage in a blood-splattered tank top. Originally from Chicago, this is Verus’ first time on tour, and he most certainly did not disappoint. Verus kicked off the show with high energy, moving side to side on stage to lean out over the crowd of fans singing along to every word. Verus’ set was a mix of both high energy music and slow ballads including the beautiful If I Showed You. Along with performing original music, Verus used his impressive vocal range to cover Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton. He even returned to stage to perform Texas with Jessie Murph, a song originally sung by Murph and Maren Morris, during the second half of her set. All in all, Verus has the showmanship of a big star paired with impressive vocals. His performance was high energy, engaging, captivating, and had the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Nothing hits quite like a Halloween show! Fresh off her tv appearance on Jimmy Kimmel the night before, Jessie Murph was certainly ready to celebrate the spookiest holiday of the year. She asked fans to dress up in an Instagram story on Halloween morning which lined up perfectly with 9:30 Club’s tradition of holding a Halloween costume contest. Opening the sold out show with her hit, and the namesake for the tour, Cowboys and Angels, Murph herself came sporting an impressive costume for Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction. The costume was completed with a black bob wig and long white blouse. However, more impressive than her costume were Murph’s vocals. Stunning does not even begin to describe how incredible her hits sound live including: While You’re at It, How Could You, and If I Died Last Night. Not only did she stun with her own original released music, Murph broke out several unreleased songs including a touching tribute to her mother called Wildflowers and Wine in addition to covering several songs by other artists, most notably Back to Black by Amy Winehouse.

The star of the show, however, was when Murph headed out into the crowd for the second to last song in her set. As she finished performing onstage, the lights dimmed and 60 seconds later she popped up standing atop the bar along the right side of the venue. And then, as if it could not get any better, security put her on top of their shoulder and carried her through the mass of fans back to the stage as she sang! In this moment Murph’s special relationship with her fans was so evident. She reached out, touching hands, offering laughs and smiles in between singing. Everyone respected her space and shifted as she moved through the venue, almost like parting the sea. She then closed out the show from the stage with her hit Heartbroken as the crow screamed along. It was truly the best way to end an already spectacular concert!