I had the pleasure of catching Haroula Rose’s set at Schubas this past Saturday. Although the set was brief, as she was the first act of four to play that night, it was clear she was excited to be back home in Chicago. Rose is currently based in LA but grew up in Chicago and had several family members in the crowd including a young nephew. With that and the Christmas lights surrounding the small Schubas stage, it felt like I had arrived at the family Christmas dinner and our talented cousin from LA was playing a few songs in front of the fire.
The set was warm, interactive, and fun. Rose played a few new tracks from her latest ep So Easy, but added in a Waylon Jennings cover and a special Christmastime cover of John Denver’s "Christmas for Cowboys". Rose closed the charming set with the song that started it all "Someday". It is a song about longing, wishing, and waiting for your moment to arrive and for Rose it still seems fitting but it also feels like her moment is coming very soon.