Maren Morris is an artist that I truly believe deserves all the praise and hype. Her career has been transformative over the years, and right now she is seeming to be the most in-her-own body that she has ever been. The writing on her recently released fourth studio album “Dreamsicle” is honest, raw, cathartic, and takes the listener on a journey of healing. Taking this record into the road, the Nashville based singer-songwriter has finally made her way down under for her debut run of headline shows after her last visit eight years ago when she opened for Niall Horan. 

The Dreamsicle Tour made its way to Sydney’s Enmore Theatre for a Saturday night of emotional processing through the form of country and pop music. Taking a bold approach with this tour Maren performed all 14 songs from the recent record, allowing the audience to get the full perspective of what this album represents. Taking you on a journey through her divorce, heartbreak, anger, healing, and finding herself again, the album is a rollercoaster of emotions. As she explained to BLEACHED in a podcast interview ahead of the shows (out Thursday 12 Feb), she wanted to make sure no part of the story got left out.

“cry in the car”, “cut!”, “i hope i never fall in love”, “bed no breakfast” and “too good” started the journey, and as she navigated through she gave fans some old favourites like “80’s Mercedes”, “Rich”, “My Church” and the mammoth hit “The Middle”. She even decided to give Australian fans a little something special with a cover that she described as the ultimate karaoke song – “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia – which was her nod to her time down under. 

Her vocals are truly something else, and throughout the 90 minute show I don’t think she hit a flat note once. It seemed like she was in an effortless state with her band where she hit her stride and kept soaring past your expectations. The wholesome night was wrapped up by my personal favourite “because, of course” and “The Bones” which felt like the perfect way to wrap up an intimate gig all about storytelling and community. 

Check out the full gallery captured of Maren Morris and Jack Gray by Sophie Hill BELOW:

Photos by Sophie Hill
Review by Thomas Bleach