Lila Forde and Ny Oh

About this event

Lila Forde With a voice steeped in jazz, soul, folk, and old-school American songcraft, the Seattle-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter has always carried a deep sense of self through her music. But on Life Can Still Be Sweet, her sophomore album, that self comes into fuller focus: A little older, a little wiser, and more firmly in command of the world she’s building. Warm, whimsical, and full of growing pains, the record captures Forde in the thick of her twenties – learning lessons, finding her people, and holding onto beauty even when life gets hard. “I think I have a unique voice – not just my literal voice, but my proverbial voice,” Forde says. “In this day and age, and in this industry, there’s a lot of trend following, and there’s a lot of homogeny. I’m just really trying to be my own artist.” That individuality has been there from the beginning. Her 2025 debut album Vessel introduced her sound with grace and intention. Arriving after Forde’s Top 5 run on Season 24 of The Voice, Vessel affirmed what had already been true: “I want to be a vessel for the music,” she said at the time. “I’m here to serve it.” Life Can Still Be Sweet is the sound of that next Lila arriving in real time. Where Vessel was recorded before The Voice and released after a long gestation, this new record feels present in her hands – immediate, timely, and deeply connected to the life she’s living now. Since releasing Vessel, Forde’s world has “exploded like a garden blooming,” full of new friendships and musical possibilities. Unlike her debut, Life Can Still Be Sweet came together through a wider constellation of players and co-writers – but for all its moving parts, it is unmistakably Forde’s record. The album glows with Laurel Canyon warmth, old-school soul, country twang, jazz-rooted phrasing, Hammond organ, three-part harmonies, and live-band richness – songs made by real people in rooms together, shaped by chemistry, instinct, and the trust that comes from playing…