Visibly thrilled and grateful to be back on the stage and performing in front of an audience, indie-pop starlet Gretta Ray launched into the opening show of her 'Begin To Look Around' tour at Brisbane's The Outpost (1 June).
Strong fan support meant the tour kicked off a night earlier than expected, with Ray adding more performances to the original run of dates after selling out a number of shows.Earlier in the evening, the crowd were entertained by Kat Edwards before Ray graced the stage.
A good crowd braved a wintery (for Brisbane, anyways) school night evening as the former triple j Unearthed winner performed a wide range of tracks, from the very old ('Unexpected Feeling' from her first EP) to the very new ('Dear 17', an unreleased song she said was "written last week").
Songs from her debut album 'Begin To Look Around' like 'Bigger Than Me', 'Cherish', 'The Brink' and 'Love Me Right' were obvious highlights, as were her more popular cuts from earlier releases, especially 'Radio Silence' and 'Drive'.
Her covers too were well received – the TikTok viral cover of Billy Joel's 'Vienna' and the Like A Version take of 'The Deepest Sighs, The Frankest Shadows' from her artistic collaborators Gang Of Youths.
Throughout the show, Ray was in a conversationalist mood, sharing stories of where she was mentally (and physically) when she was writing many of her songs, opening up about the feelings that inspired many of the moments on the album.
Decked out in a shimmering silver suit and supported by her three-piece band, Gretta gently bounced across the stage, with her voice filling the room when she sang.
Occasionally, the backing track got a little overwhelming given the smaller space they had to work with, but overall, the performance was a great showcase her debut album sharing songs about coming of age and heartbreak – all timeless material.
Gretta's tour continues this month, with performances in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle.
