Live Review: Emma Louise, Ryan Downey, Greta Stanley

Hailing from far-north Queensland, Greta Stanley immediately charmed us with her vocals. Easing us into the night with her indie-folk tunes, she stood confidently, guitar in hand, crooning her tracks. Her warm, husky vocals, paired with a simple arrangement, was all we needed to convince us it was worth venturing out on a Friday night. Single Kick was a highlight, as was closer, When January Comes.

Ryan Downey played a rather self-indulgent set, filling the setlist with primarily unreleased songs and covers, one of which was a reworked version of Kanye West's Can't Tell Me Nothing. He stepped out in a maroon jacket with an air of arrogance about him (think Alex Turner vibes), and we knew we were in for a performance. Downey mesmerised with his baritone, theatrically taking over the stage as he performed his set.

Kicking off with Underflow, Emma Louise immediately had us in awe of her voice. Standing stage left behind a keyboard, she was ready to take us on a journey.

She flicked a switch, lowering her voice to a near baritone, and treated us to Wish You Well and Falling Apart from Lilac Everything. Returning to her natural voice, Louse dedicated West End Kids to a guy outside who said he liked the song, before immediately switching back to baritone for Just The Way I Am. 

We’d been waiting for Louise to tour Lilac Everything since its release last year. She revealed that she had started writing a new album immediately following its release, and shared some of those songs with us.

Much to the audience’s delight, Louise treated us to oldie Jungle which got a few of us singing and dancing. She performed a fantastic rendition of Two Bodies, which she wrote with Flight Facilities, as the final track. 

Calls for her to return to the stage were met with the performance of a new track, God Between Us, ending the show on a sombre, but satisfying note.