Nessa Barrett | Margaret Court Arena
Nessa Barrett deserved better — that was the common sentiment I heard amongst the crowd following her set at Spilt Milk in Ballarat over the weekend. Heavy rain and blisteringly cold winds decided to show up right as Nessa and her band took the stage, which led to them playing their set whilst being quite cold and soggy.
Barrett copped it the hardest, arms goosebumped-up to no end, her hands and lips quivering enough to be noticeable from the audience. She was clearly uncomfortable, but despite the unfortunate weather turnout, she put on the best show she could.
Thankfully, her headline show at Margaret Court Arena on Tuesday went off without a hitch. It felt as if Melbourne's meteorology was apologising on behalf of Ballarat, saying "sorry about that stuff on the weekend, here's an indoor arena show to make up for it."
Kicking off the night was Thomas Day. I'd admittedly never heard of Thomas before his set, but he certainly left a good impression, enough to say I'm a new fan. The set opened with a souped-up rendition of his song Sore Throat, combining atmospheric ambient synths with punchy drums and octave driven guitar riffs that wouldn't be out of place on a 2000s-era blink-182 track. Day fully utilised his 8-song set to cover as many bases as possible, sprinkling in a good mix of acoustic balladry (Underwear, not my job anymore) and stadium-ready anthems (VICIOUS, lost myself 4 u) that more than succeeded at warming up the crowd.
Nessa Barrett then took the stage (at 9pm sharp by the way, right on the exact scheduled time — take notes, every other artist ever) to rapturous applause. It was clear from the get go that this wasn't going to be a repeat of Ballarat's set: this was Barrett in her finest form to date.
Nessa and her band (consisting of Daniel Geraghty on guitar, Max Nudi on drums and Jeremy Smith on Keys) ripped into the set with the dirty synth-bass driven S.L.U.T., featuring a fiery chant driven chorus and driving drum groove, which led seamlessly into BABYDOLL, flaunting slow, moody keys lines and huge soaring hooks.
There was truly nothing to fault about Barrett or her band's performance — they looked confident, suave and gave off the impression they really belonged on that stage.
Nessa is known to be a very down to earth artist, talking to the crowd between songs more than most artists do, which I'm sure would be an amazing experience for the die-hard Nessa Barrett fans there. For me, however, some of this dialogue with the audience came across as a little bit awkward, often filling dead-air with uncertain "umm"s and "yeah"s (plus at least one instance of an unprompted "slay") which does create a bit of dissonance against the mature, classy vibe she strives for (and achieves) whilst a song is being played. At the end of the day though, it's a humble reminder that we are watching a new-ish 23-year-old artist in her comeuppance, performing to what are essentially her peers, and what she may seemingly lack in confidence between songs, she certainly makes up for with her performance.
Nessa Barrett is a powerhouse vocalist, never off-key for even a second. Fan favourite tracks like LOVE LOOKS PRETTY ON YOU and die first give her a chance to show off her impressive vocal range whilst keeping the trademark 2020s breathy-ness on full display.
We also got the debut of an upcoming release of hers, titled HIGH ON HEAVEN (after her label made her change the original title, "High on Heroin", which is probably for the best) which saw Nessa take her songwriting in a slightly groovier and rockier direction than what we're used to from her, but only time will tell if the final released version keeps this new feel.
Nessa Barrett knows what she's doing. She's a stellar vocalist, she's supported by a very talented backing band who serve her songs perfectly, and it's clear we're only just seeing the beginning of what will likely be a very strong and eventful career for her. Keep Nessa on your radar, don't let her be the music industry's DIRTY LITTLE SECRET.