Earlier this month Nick Ward released his stunning debut album “House With The Blue Door” which perfectly captured his growth and journey as an artist who has been releasing for six years. To celebrate the release of the album, he embarked on a headline run of shows and also performed the record in full at SXSW Sydney at Phoenix Central Park. Following the Brisbane and Melbourne headline shows, he concluded the tour in Sydney for a Halloween party at Oxford Art Factory. 

Looking around the venue, everyone came dressed up and turned it out. We had Alfredo Linguini from Ratatouille, The Lorax, Gandolf, Phineas Flynn, aliens, and important to note that I was dressed as Pitbull. And for anyone that didn’t come dressed up, they were hilariously given a Nick Ward mask at the door. 

Following Friday* and Dylan Atlantis’ opening sets, Nick and his band walked out onto the stage ready to play every track from the album. Opening with “Gimme”, and straight into the anthemic “Go!”, he had the energy immediately at an all time high. Throwing a few older gems like “Alien” into the set for balance, he did keep the majority of the show’s focus on the album, with “Speak” and “Nothing (To You)” (my favourite from the album), feeling like true standouts. But when he closed out the set with “All Your Life”, I looked around the venue and went “yes, this is it”. A special moment for the live show. Returning to the stage for an encore, he performed “Princess” before ending on a second performance of “Control” which the crowd were stoked about, and if they had their way he would’ve done the whole set again.

From first seeing him perform live a few years ago, Nick’s live show has already grown so much, and with this album it truly feels like he’s come into his own. Throughout November he’s hitting the road supporting Troye Sivan before a run of festivals over summer, and I’m excited to see how he continually refines the show on an even bigger scale.