Following the conclusion of the European leg of the Eras tour, there is one artist from Taylor Swift’s support acts who has gained massive attention and it’s none other than Holly Humberstone. The British singer’s musical career has been on an upward swing ever since she won the Rising Star award at the 2022 Brit Awards and later toured alongside Olivia Rodrigo. And now, after opening for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in Wembley, here’s everything to know about the 24-year-old musician from Grantham, England. Take a look at Holly Humberstone’s musical journey, net worth and more.
It’s safe to say that the 2024 summer belongs to the pop girlies, which include the officiator of Brat Summer, Charli XCX, friend of Taylor Swift and yet another Eras tour openers Gracie Abrams. Joining the ranks now is British singer Holly Humberstone. Having earned a reputation for being the go-to artist for the alt-pop genre, Humberstone became the breakout star of 2019 after submitting her self-recorded song to her local radio station.
It has been five years since Humberstone’s ambitious feat first put her music out there. Now, Humberstone can claim to have played for the loudest and most cheerful concert crowd after opening for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour on August 16. Sharing a photo with Taylor Swift after her set, Humberstone wrote, “I had the wildest time last night playing The Eras Tour @taylorswift thank you for inviting me into your magical world, you are everything. I am still floating on a cloud.”
With Humberstone earning a new legion of fans following her Eras tour performance, here’s everything to know about the British singer-songwriter’s musical journey so far.
Holly Humberstone hails from England’s East Midlands. The singer’s family home is reportedly located in the serene countryside outside of Grantham. Coming from a big family, Holly is the third of four sisters; her parents are doctors who work with Britain’s National Health Service. Beyond their academic genius, Holly’s parents also possessed musical inclinations which they passed down to their daughter. As per the New York Times, her mother was fond of playing the cello while her father has had a penchant for poetry.
With her family’s artistic roots, it comes as no surprise that Holly’s musical journey commenced from a young age, beginning with playing the violin in the Lincolnshire Youth Symphony Orchestra. As a teenager, she also began to experiment, creating music on GarageBand.
In 2020, Humberstone released her debut EP Falling Asleep at the Wheel, which she worked on alongside writer and producer Rob Milton. A signature highlight of her songs has been not only been her mesmerising vocals, but also the lyrics. Speaking to the New York Times amidst the pandemic, Humberstone shared on the quality of songwriting she hoped to achieve, with her goal being the creation of something that would resonate on a personal level with her listeners. Revealing the process of how she handpicked the songs for her EP, she added, “If they’re not tattoo lyrics, then they don’t make the record.”
In one of her interviews, Humberstone has named Carol Ades and Phoebe Bridgers as her musical inspirations; she also crowned Chappel Roan the “Queen of pop”.
The inspiration of these amazing pop artists is certainly reflected in Humberstone’s music, particularly in her more compelling earworms like Ghost Me and Cocoon, which feature in her full-length debut album, Paint My Bedroom Black.
A common connection between Taylor Swift and Holly Humberstone is the frontman of The 1975, Matty Healy. Swifties will be surprised to learn that Humberstone, despite opening for Swift in London, has previously worked with her controversial ex and the supposed subject of The Tortured Poets Department. In 2022, Humberstone co-wrote a song with Healy titled Sleep Tight. The song marked their second collaboration, as he also co-wrote and co-produced Please Don’t Leave Just Yet from her second EP The Walls Are Way Too Thin.
Other famous collaborators on Humberstone’s musical portfolio include American singer David Anthony Burke, who is professionally known as D4vd. The duo worked together on her song Superbloodmoon, a winning combination featuring d4vd’s smooth vocals and Humberstone’s emo style. Furthermore, she has also partnered with American indie pop band MUNA for the song Into Your Room.
Long before her stint on the Eras tour, Humberstone opened for Lewis Capaldi, marking her earliest performances as an opening act for an artist on tour. As a fresh-faced musician that had yet to release a debut album, Humberstone earned the gig of performing at Glastonbury, touring with Capaldi during his European arena tour in 2020. It was a fateful moment for Humberstone, as the Scottish pop star had stumbled upon her music online before making the decision to invite her on tour.
She secured her next big gig following the release of Paint My Bedroom Black, when she was chosen as the support act for Olivia Rodrigo‘s Sour tour in 2023. Impressively, Humberstone performed at The Met as a lead-in to Rodrigo’s main show by switching between playing the guitar and keyboard, and also DJing. Her solo performance without a band earned her high praise from the audience, especially as she sang the painfully personal track London is Lonely.
In 2024, she booked the biggest performance of her career as a support act on Taylor Swift’s mega-successful Eras tour. While the singer learned in June that she would be opening for Swift, it was a secret (much like a super secret Marvel project) she had to keep for months before its eventual announcement. and it was a secret she had to keep for months before being officially announced. Speaking to BBC, she said, “It’s been hard — especially keeping it from a lot of my friends. Obviously, we’re all Swifties and a lot of them have been like, ‘Are you going to go to a Taylor show?'”
The British singer-songwriter is current in the early stages of her pop stardom. As such, she has yet to add a massive fortune to her name on account of her budding musical career. According to reports, Humberstone’s net worth as of 2024 is USD 119,600. Given the massive career boost she has received from her Eras tour performance, however, Humberstone is expected to gain a positive uptick in her future earnings.
Humberstone has also struck gold with her newest EP Work In Progress, which was released in March 2024. Following the release of earworms such as Drive and Down Swinging, Humberstone’s musical fanbase has been on the rise. Striking a beautiful combination of emotive lyrics and acoustic sounds, the musician is successfully gripping listeners with harmonies reminiscent of the likes of Billie Eilish.
(Main and featured images: Holly Humberstone/Instagram)
Holly Humberstone started out as a young musician and was discovered on a local BBC Music Introducing radio show.
Holly Humberstone recently performed as a support act for Taylor Swift during the singer's second round of London shows for the Eras tour. She has previously also opened for Olivia Rodrigo and Lewis Capaldi.
Holly Humberstone along with Gracie Abrams and Baby Queen were the openers for Olivia Rodrigo's Sour tour.
Holly Humberstone's parents are doctors in England's NHS. She hails from Grantham, Lincolnshire, England.
Senior Digital Writer, People, Entertainment and Fashion
Surabhi Redkar is a pop culture enthusiast with a keen interest in celebrity fashion and beauty trends. A post graduate in multimedia journalism from Birmingham City University, she has worked with several ..Read More
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