Photos and review by Jennie Book
@jenniebookphotography

Finneas and Ashe brought their band The Favors to the Douglas Fairbanks Lawn at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on September 18^th, under the promoting banner of “Finneas and Ashe Present:” And after a spectacular evening under the stars I’d suggest that not only should they go on a world tour, but they should start event producing too. This was the An Evening With The Favors tour to promote their new album The Dream, which was released a day after this show. The tour will have a five-date run, beginning in LA and ending in Austin at Austin City Limits in October.

The outdoor stage on this warm night was perfect– well lit, room for the band to move, big screen behind them so the fans in the back of the football-field sized space could see the action, great sound. The crowd was a mix of fans yelling every lyric while pressed against the barricade, to influencers selfie-ing themselves at a not to be missed special show.

The band came on around 8:40 to extra loud cheering, after no warm-up opener, which it turns out wasn’t needed at all. The mates on stage making the magic happen (“we’re a band, not a duo!”) were Ricky Gourmet on guitar, David Marinelli on Drums, Lucy Healey on keys, and Aron Forbes as musical director, plus Finneas and Ashe– with screaming at a decibel earcrush for Finneas and Ashe’s stage entrance.

They jumped into the music right away with “Restless Little Heart,” and over the course of the night and a 21-song set played many live debuts, including “David’s Brother,” “The Dream,” and “Times Square Jesus.” One fun highlight in an evening of highlights was drummer Marinelli leaving his kit to sing “Someday I’ll Be Back in Hollywood” (“Someday I’ll be back in Hollywood, and I’m gonna stay until someone makes me leave”) while Finneas took over for him on drums.

Ashe and Finneas worked seamlessly together, sharing original songs– some were hers (“Angry Woman,” “Moral of the Story,”) and some were his (“Cleats,” “For Cryin’ Out Loud”)– and sharing harmonies. They each have an effortless, natural talent, and together it was doubled. Their voices were perfectly suited for their duetting vocals, which were totally in sync while they belted both pop songs and slower ballads.

More highlights: The song “Hudson,” which got big cheers, and Ashe saying after it “I felt a tear on that one.” The two of them switching instruments– Ashe on piano, Finneas on guitar, piano, drums– both of them so talented at each. Finneas sounding like an old crooner sometimes. Ashe talking about how she almost quit music altogether but then reached out to Finneas asking if he’d be interested in her “harebrained scheme” to form a band, and he was. Thank goodness.

After the very classy move of thanking their crew sincerely and profusely, they wrapped the show with “Till Forever Falls Apart,” then the lights came up and fans were left to exit through the vast graveyard after a very memorable and alive night.

Don’t miss this show– for the latest news and ticket and tour information, check out wearethefavors.com and @wearethefavors.