WAFIA is no stranger to the touring circuit with coveted festivals and sold out shows under her belt, the Brisbane singer-songwriter is continually evolving as a performer and an artist, and it’s been an incredible journey to witness.
Returning home to Brisbane for a SOLD OUT show at The Triffid, WAFIA is completely on her game with this new live show that is her strongest and most cohesive show to date.
Growing out of her shyness that lingered through some of her earlier shows, this new tour highlights her finding her confidence and delivering a show full of big singalong’s, dancing and purely celebrates her artistic growth.
With big drums and slick keys welcoming her onstage for the final night of her Australian tour, she kicked off the show with early favourites ‘Heartburn’ and ‘Love Somebody’.
“What’s up Brisbane! This is home for me, and I’m so excited to be playing for you tonight” she gushed to the ecstatic crowd who were screaming so loud for their hometown favourite. Taking a moment to recognise the dark aura that surrounds the day that the show fell on (Australia Day), she acknowledged her respect to the traditional owners of the land and exclaimed her support for the date to be changed.
Asking the crowd to respect each other and dance through her set, she rolled into recent Louis The Child collaboration ‘Hurts’ as well as the pulsating jams ‘Only Love’ and ’83 Days’.
Revealing to the crowd that she’s been working on her debut album which will be out later this year, she premiered some new songs which were received overwhelmingly well by the crowd.
‘Hurricane’ is a groovy slow burner that reflects on the support system she has around her that always pick her up when she’s down, while ‘I Pick Me’ is the self-love anthem you NEED in your life. The break-up track sees her being put in a situation where her lover was making her choose between them and her career, and she chose herself and her career because anyone that truly loved her would never make her choose. And the production on this track is HUGE and would be a great choice for a future single.
A new track that the crowd was familiar with was her recent single ‘Flowers & Superpowers’ which ignited a big singalong before she did a cover of Frank Ocean’s ‘Lost’ and Justin Timberlake’s ‘Mirrors’ which the crowd vibed big time.
With the energy feeling electric, it was time for her to really embrace that with her other Louis The Child collaboration ‘Better Not’ which she spiced up with a new live band version before rolling into ‘Bodies’ and show closer ‘I’m Good’.
This new live show felt electric the whole way through and had a new energy to it. Her slick live band definitely had a big hand in this as they brought a real syncopated cohesiveness to the show and lifted the songs with a tighter delivery. And WAFIA herself just seemed more confident and happy on stage as she sung through the hour setlist.
Opening the show was indie-pop newcomer MAY-A and the bubbly-pop visionary Banoffee who has been delivering her own unique spin on PC pop to a growing underground scene. Banoffee’s highly anticipated debut album ‘Look At Us Now Dad’ which will be released on February 22.
The Melbourne singer-songwriter opened her set with recent single ‘Count On You’ before premiering a bunch of new tracks from the forthcoming record including the anthemic ‘Fuckwit’, the bouncy ‘One Night Stand’ and her Cupcakke collaboration ‘Ripe’.
She also played some of her previously released material like ‘With Her’, ‘Muscle Memory’, ‘Tennis Fan’ and ‘Let’s Go To The Beach’ which saw some members of the crowd excitingly dancing and singing along which took her by surprise.
At first she came across a little nervous but once she warmed up to the crowd she delivered a very fun and enjoyable set. Her songs have a lot of energy and sass to it and once the album is out I can’t wait to see the audience singing these songs back to her and see her stage presence continue to grow.
Check out the full gallery captured by Tayla Sudall Photography BELOW;
Photos by Tayla Sudall