Holly Humberstone re-imagines acclaimed album Cruel World with four track EP & Set to support Gracie Abrams at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum in December.
HOLLY HUMBERSTONE RE-IMAGINES CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SECOND ALBUM CRUEL WORLD WITH FOUR TRACK EP IT’S A REAL CRUEL WORLD LISTEN HERE
SET TO SUPPORT GRACIE ABRAMS AT LOS ANGELES’ KIA FORUM IN DECEMBER
EMBARKS ON NORTH AMERICA HEADLINE TOUR WITH SUPPORT FROM DIVA SMITH AND LEYLA EBRAHIMI
Today, award-winning artist Holly Humberstone releases it’s a real Cruel World, a strikingly intimate EP that reimagines four standout tracks from her critically acclaimed second album Cruel World. Offering a new perspective on some of the record’s most beloved songs, the collection features new versions of “White Noise,” “Red Chevy,” “Cruel World” and “To Love Somebody.”
The release arrives amid a landmark period for Humberstone, including striking performances on “Later… with Jools Holland,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” as well as an appearance on the season one finale of “SNL UK.” In April, Humberstone released her album Cruel World via Interscope Records, which has amassed over 83 million streams to date. The new record captures the tension between pain and pleasure, where chaos and acceptance exist side by side. Renowned for her spellbinding songwriting ability, Humberstone has grown into a global force, whose lucid storytelling resonates far beyond her own walls. Entering Cruel World, she escapes into a dark fairytale world of her own making, where childhood relics, monsters and memory collide.
In conjunction, Humberstone will take her lauded live show back on the road for a run of North American tour dates with support from Diva Smith and Leyla Ebrahimi. Kicking off in June, the Cruel World North American Tour includes festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Governors Ball, Summerfest and All Things Go Toronto as well as headline performances at Los Angeles’ The Fonda Theatre, Boston’s Paradise Rock Club, DC’s 9:30 Club, Chicago’s The Vic Theatre, Minneapolis’ Varsity Theater, San Francisco’s The Fillmore and more. Following the headline run, Humberstone is also set to support Gracie Abrams at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum this December. Tickets are available for purchase now at hollyhumberstone.com/tour while full tour routing can be found below.
The past two years for Humberstone have been defined by repair, belonging and rediscovering talismans to her past, which were moments forgotten when she was catapulted into the public sphere at just 20 years old. Where her critically acclaimed debut album Paint My Bedroom Black was marked by turbulence and longing, Cruel World is anchored in stability and recollection. Visually, Humberstone has built a world with her sister Eleri and creative director Silken, inspired by childhood trinkets unearthed while leaving the Haunted House she grew up in. From ballet shoes, to Alice in Wonderland books and films like Edward Scissorhands and James and the Giant Peach, sifting through her girlhood belongings reframed the ghosts of her past into something playful and magical.
Cruel World was written with a new discipline through daily studio sessions with collaborator Rob Milton and draws deeply on love (romantic, platonic and feminine). Raised among strong women, Humberstone speaks to the way girls are taught to see one another as competition, unlearning that instinct and reclaiming solidarity as survival.
Since emerging with her breakthrough EP Falling Asleep At The Wheel five years ago, Humberstone has carved out a world that is cinematic, visceral and unflinchingly intimate. Humberstone’s vivid storytelling has carried her from the haunted rooms of her family home in Grantham to the stages of Glastonbury, Lollapalooza and Wembley Stadium where she opened for Taylor Swift. From winning the BRIT Rising Star in 2022, receiving an Ivor Novello nomination for “Haunted House” and releasing her critically acclaimed debut album Paint My Bedroom Black in 2023, Humberstone has become known for her unflinching honesty and ability to articulate the quiet turbulence of young adulthood.
IT’S A REAL CRUEL WORLD TRACKLIST
- it’s just White Noise
- at least you got To Love Somebody
- back in your Red Chevy
- it’s a real Cruel World
See Holly Humberstone Live
- June 6 – Toronto, ON – All Things Go Toronto
- June 7 – Queens, NY – Governors Ball Music Festival
- June 9 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of The Living Arts*
- June 10 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
- June 12 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse*
- June 13 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
- June 15 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall*
- June 16 – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre*
- June 18 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
- June 19 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater*
- June 21 – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre^
- June 22 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex – The Grand^
- June 24 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox^
- June 25 – Vancouver, BC – The Commodore Ballroom^
- June 26 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater^
- June 28 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore^
- June 29 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre^
*w/ support from Diva Smith
^w/ support from Leyla Ebrahimi
