Review: Ella Hooper- An Intimate Harmony with Hoops

Nov 14
3 min read

“This performance felt like a beautiful evolution of one of Australia’s icons.

Ella didn’t just perform in the Goldroom —

she let us into her world.”

A night where Ella Hooper proved that honesty, humour and heart hit harder than nostalgia.

- Musician: Ella Hooper -

There are artists who perform, and then there are artists who let you in. Last night at the Six Degrees Goldroom, Ella Hooper cracked the door wide open and invited Albany straight into her world — raw edges, warm harmonies, sharp humour and all.

It was the kind of gig that reminds you why live music matters: because some stories only make sense when they’re sung right in front of you.

A Room Opened by Truth — Beth Chia’s Haunting Start

The night began without theatrics or spotlight tricks. Beth Chia simply walked into the room, wrapped her hands around the guitar, and began.

No buildup.

No fanfare.

Just sound — earthy, haunting, and unapologetically real.

Her songs settled over the Goldroom like mist. You could feel the energy shift from chatter to stillness as people started really listening. Beth’s presence had this uncanny familiarity — something in her posture, her edges, the way she owned the space — like a quiet echo of the Ella Hooper we first met decades ago in the Killing Heidi days.

It was more than an opening set. It was a handover — one strong woman preparing the room for another.

Enter Ella: Firecracker heart, no filter required

Ella stepped in with Lucy, her musical right hand, and the room snapped awake immediately. There’s no other way to describe it — she brought the fizz. The warmth. The whip-smart humour that makes you feel like you’re catching up with an old friend who’s lived ten lives since you last spoke.

Between songs, she shared pieces of her world — life outside the spotlight, memories that shaped her writing, the quiet realities behind the loud moments. Her storytelling is as much part of the show as the music itself.

And yes, in true Hooper fashion, she’s still got the courage to call a c%nt a c%nt and grin while she does it.

One of the great joys of watching Ella live is how she balances the softness with the bite — how she can be tender one minute and drop a truth bomb the next.

The Sound of a Woman Who Has Grown, Shifted, Survived

Ella’s music has evolved in ways that feel both surprising and inevitable. It’s polished without being perfect, effortless without being easy.

Her voice carries history now — the big highs from her youth, the quieter battles from adulthood, the kind you don’t write unless you’ve lived them.

She took the room through older favourites reshaped with new depth, and then into unreleased tracks from her upcoming album, each one landing with that unmistakable Hooper blend of melancholy, melody, and mischief.

It wasn’t long before the whole room was vibing, drawn in by her honesty and the chemistry between her and Lucy.

If the new songs are anything to go by, the next Ella Hooper era is going to hit people right in the chest.

A Performance That Felt Like Evolution in Real Time

There’s something incredibly grounding about seeing an artist so at home in her own skin. This show wasn’t about spectacle. It wasn’t about recreating the fever of early 2000s hits or leaning into nostalgia.

It was about now.

Who she is.

How she sounds with the noise stripped away.

This performance felt like a beautiful evolution — not just of her music, but of Ella herself. An artist with nothing to prove and everything to express. An Australian icon choosing intimacy over industry polish, connection over chaos.

By the end of the night, it didn’t feel like we watched a gig.

It felt like we witnessed a chapter.

The Music Ends, But the Notes Linger

As we walked out into the cool Albany air, one line kept circling:

An intimate harmony with Hoops.

That’s exactly what this night was — harmony, honesty, humour, heart. A reminder of why music feels like home when it’s shared by someone brave enough to show us their whole self.

Ella Hooper didn’t just perform in the Goldroom.

She lit it up — with truth, with grit, with joy.

By Uncle Tatt — host of “Between the Notes,”

Where stories breathe, songs belong, and every heart has a place to land.