A year ago Gracie Abrams headed to Australia for the first time, and in Sydney performed two sold out shows at Hordern Pavilion which was an impressive feat in itself. But it’s kind of crazy to see that a year later she’s back performing three sold out nights at Qudos Bank Arena which is the same amount of nights Dua Lipa did in March, and the same that Katy Perry is doing next month, making her notably one of the most exciting ones-to-watch in pop music. 

With her devoted audience dressed in white, yellow and pastel colours, they donned the signature bow in their hair and filled out the arena before the support had even taken the stage. With “Dancing Queen” from ABBA blasting over the speakers, Ashe then ran out onto the stage for her euphoric opening song “Running Out Of Time”. Her 45 minute set perfectly showcased her three albums “Ashe”, “Rae” and “Willson”, with a seamless string of emotions taking the audience on a journey of loss, anger, rebuild, and empowerment. The crowd lit up their phone lights for “Please Don’t Fall in Love With Me” which Ashe looked out in pure awe, before she played two of my personal favourites, “Cherry Trees” and “Hope You’re Not Happy”. She commanded everyone’s attention so naturally, and seemed so shocked by everyone being so receptive. When it came time for “Til Forever Falls Apart” and “Moral Of The Story” the entire crowd screamed out the lyrics in a therapeutic harmony, which gave a teaser of what was to come for the rest of the evening. Ashe is a star – there’s no denying it. And after this successful run of dates with Gracie, I am excited to see her pack out venues herself in the not so distant future. 

With the lights dimming for the arrival of Gracie Abrams, the screams turned to an even higher decibel and the entire arena were on their feet. Appearing as a silhouette behind a giant LED screen, Gracie opened the show with “Felt Good About You”, before running out onto the main stage for “Risk”. The singalong’s were in full swing, with every song in the setlist being sung as loud as each other. “21”, “I Love You, I’m Sorry”, “Where Do We Go Now?”, “Mess it Up” and “Friend” found themselves early in the set and were accompanied by stunning visuals and lighting that helped elevate her into an arena setting compared to her previous tour. Each song was met with a colour palette for the visuals and lighting that was representative of the era it was from, which felt very thought out and unknowingly signalled a specific energy from the crowd. In-between songs she was gracious with the crowds adoring fanfare, and honestly explained how she was having a really weird day and was feeling off, but the second she was on stage she felt safe and recharged. 

Running through the crowd after “Tough Love” to a b-stage that was dressed as her childhood bedroom, she explained how she wanted to bring everyone into where it all started during COVID. Sat at the end of the bed on her keyboard she chatted with the crowd and pointed out some people she recognised from being long-time fans. She then gave the crowd two surprise songs “Painkillers” and the unreleased fan favourite “In Between”, before performing “I Miss You, I’m Sorry”. 

Returning to the main stage she gave an energetic finish to the show with “Us”, ‘Free Now”, “That’s So True” and “Close To You”. To be honest I was unsure how she was going to transition from theatres to arenas, but she did it with pure class. The show was visually stunning, and cushioned by a setlist that celebrated her career-to-date as well as highlighting her recent record “The Secret Of Us”. As an artist only on her second world tour, there’s still room for growth while she finds her feet, and I can’t wait to see how she continues to evolve as a performer. I’d personally love to see her do an in-the-round styled stage as I feel like it would really compliment her strong audience interaction and allow her to get closer to more people.