JJ Wilde-Council Bluffs-5.25.24

JJ Wilde at Stir Cove in Council Bluffs, Iowa on May 25th, 2024.

Photos and Review by The Pit Magazine Contributor, Bob DeHart Photography

I was excited when I found out that JJ Wilde was the opener for the Marcus King show I would be covering. I had her name tossed around some among friends but hadn’t taken the chance to give her a listen. I had hear nothing but good things about her, so on my way to the show I decided to give a listen to see what I was in store for. To tell the truth, I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to what I heard. First song was “The Rush”, and it was a lot more edgy and guitar driven that what I was expecting. Hearing that first song made me even more excited about the show.

As the show started JJ Wilde came out a little slower and built up steam like a freight train gaining more momentum as the set went on. A highlight for me was when she sang the classic “Piece of My Heart” by Janice Joplin. That was an obvious crowd pleaser too. Another favorite for me was when she performed “The Rush”, it sounded even better than the recording I listened to on the way to the show. The longer she played the more the crowd seemed to get involved, I feel like there were a lot of new fans won over that night. After the set she even came out to sign a shirt for a your fan, not something that you always see.

JJ Wilde hails from Canada and is touring in support of a recently released EP titled “Best of Me part One”. She has released various singles over the years but her first full release was “Ruthless” released in 2020. I enjoyed the set she played quite a bit, not pretentious or overdone. Just a solid set of songs that kept the crowd going. I hope I get a chance to catch JJ Wilde again, she was worth checking out for sure. Go to Spotify or wherever you get your music and check her out!