MErcer Henderson lights up the stage at Ruel’s final tour stop
By Andrew Han
April 11, 2026
Photo by Samantha Navarro
As hundreds of fans filed into the Hollywood Palladium on April 8, 23-year-old singer-songwriter Mercer Henderson took the stage ahead of headliner Ruel for the final stop of his “Kicking My Feet,” tour.
“Hey LA, are you ready to dance?” she asked the crowd at the beginning of her set.
Henderson’s set was high-energy, driven by a thumping bass and bright lights that made it impossible not to dance along.
She opened her 30-minute set with her song “Different, Worse Versions,” an infectiously fun dance-pop track that was hard to ignore.
Henderson appeared to be having the time of her life onstage, constantly on the move, kneeling to engage with front-row fans and running across the stage.
She playfully danced with both the crowd and her bandmates. During one song, she tossed a drumstick into the audience for a lucky fan after crashing the cymbals. Later in the set, she grabbed a guitar pick and playfully strummed her bandmate’s guitar.
Photos by Samantha Navarro
Henderson spoke to the crowd as if she was confiding in a close friend. Introducing “Face Like Yours,” which she said is her favorite song to perform live, she explained that the track is about a failed situationship, someone who didn’t want a real relationship but later fell in love with someone else.
She followed with an unreleased song, drawing excitement from the crowd. She asked fans to turn on their phone flashlights to create a sea of light as Henderson sang.
Photo by Samantha Navarro
Henderson then moved into what she said was her favorite part of the set: a cover song she did not reveal in advance, keeping the crowd on its toes. She sat at the edge of the stage, creating an intimate atmosphere for fans in the front rows.
The cover was a rendition of “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” by Ariana Grande in a fully acoustic setting with a beautifully emotional vocal performance from Henderson.
Before her final two songs, Henderson took a moment to introduce her band and thank her mother in the crowd who she credits for selling merch and driving them throughout the tour.
Fans did not have to wait long to see Henderson again as she later came out for a surprise trio performance during Ruel’s set, performing “The Suburbs” alongside fellow support act Chelsea Jordan.
Longtime and new fans alike can look forward to Henderson’s next EP, “IS IT FUN OR IS IT OVER?” which is set to release on April 24.