Luna Li dazzles audiences at Folk Fest
By Ansharah Shakil, July 31 2024—
Korean-Canadian singer-songwriter Luna Li started off the Calgary Folk Music Festival with a bang on July 28. The first artist to perform at the festival, the moment she took her place on the ATB Main Stage she had attendees spellbound.
Luna Li, born Hannah Bussere Kim, is a classically-trained Toronto-based artist who, in addition to her singing and song-writing, is a multi-instrumentalist and producer. It’s her multi-instrumental ability that led her to become a sensation during the pandemic, when viral TikTok videos of her DIY jam sessions — where she played the harp, keyboard, guitar and violin — reached out to an isolated audience and formed an intimate sort of connection.
Live, she accomplished the exact same thing. You could hardly tell that this was, as Li told the audience, her first time at Folk Festival. At odds with Li’s sweet grace is her equally compelling confidence. She’s the kind of performer who puts everyone at ease, with a relaxing aura and a glittering joy to be on stage. Her band — bassist Sabrina, drummer Vania and keyboardist Char — are just as captivatingly cinematic, all of them a unit and giving it their all during every song but particularly during the final minutes of the set, where the drums and guitar were at the forefront.
Beyond the elegant simplicity of her lyricism, Li’s voice is luminous, crystal clear. It’s almost overwhelming to see her balance her vocals with her other instruments, especially when she brought out a flute, admitting that she just started learning how to play it in January. And as gorgeous as the instrumental songs are, her ethereal vocals are as stunning as the seamless way she pulled out her violin and began to play.
“This next one I like to think of as a meditation we can all do together,” Li said partway through the set. “If you like, you can close your eyes with me and we can all take a breath.”
These elements together are what make listening to Li feel beautifully gripping, like sleepwalking until you’re brought blinking back to life or like how she sang, “I got my head in a cloud,” during the enchantingly catchy “What You’re Thinking.”
This fall, Luna Li will be going on tour for their upcoming record, When a Thought Grows Wings, to be released Aug. 23. Though she isn’t coming back to Calgary — instead visiting other Canadian cities like Toronto and Vancouver — Li expressed her appreciation to be able to perform on stage with the current setlist, made up of songs from 2022 debut album Duality and the jams EPs, before her latest album comes out.
The title Duality is representative of Li’s heritage, but also of the multitudes layered in her music, her classic roots underlying her chosen form of pop and her rebellious, unconventional ventures in genre that make her music not easily classified. On “Lonely/Lovely” she’s dream-like, on “Star Stuff”, she’s a spitfire and on “Cherry Pit” she’s both. Newcomers to Li can start off listening to the viral jams EP — “2516” remains a masterpiece of instrumental work — but Duality’s “Alone but Not Lonely” and the beabadoobee-featuring “Silver Into Rain” are absorbing, soaring standouts from her discography.
While future Luna Li setlists might be saying goodbye to some of these songs, “Golden Hour” is a song likely to be performed in future setlists, since it’s the latest single released by Li. Upbeat production and lilting harmonies make it a soft, warm song that will have anyone falling for Li’s sound. One of the first things Li said to the Folk Festival audience, after all, was, “I’m glad the sun came out.” Her lighthearted spirit and intimate, introspective anthems made her the perfect introduction to everything Folk Festival is about.
Learn more about Luna Li’s music and upcoming tour on her website, and listen to her music on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.