With summer having drawn to a close, Sydney’s concert scene is still in full flow, with a plethora of international artists filling all the venues around the Harbour City on most nights of every week. Given this, it perhaps softened the surprise that multiplatinum electronic duo HONNE were playing at the Roundhouse, UNSW’s in-house concert venue, although the opportunity to see such an established international act in a small venue was a treat for those in attendance. 

The Roundhouse stage was adorned with an inflatable doll, which was used as the focal set piece when the band took to the stage. From the outset, the music in the set was strong, with lead singer Andy Clutterback’s folksy vocals working well on the Roundhouse stage and James Hatcher showing off his strong guitar skills. The band sought to create an on-stage persona through the use of their inflatable, quasi-extra-terrestrial characters, with Hatcher at one stage putting on an alien headpiece for a fantastic guitar solo. It was an intriguing way of maintaining interest, and the audience engaged with it quite nicely. 

The band perform an ethereal style of alt-pop, which demands very earthy and breathy vocals. For large parts of the concert, these were provided by Liang Lawrence, who was fantastic throughout the set. Her vocals were clear and crisp and provided a nice contrast to Clutterback. Lawrence also opened the show with her own solo set, which showed another side to her artistry so she will definitely be one to watch in the future. 

Clutterback engaged well with the audience, participating in some amusing back-and-forth between songs during the set. Of particular note was when the singer decided to try a “shoey”, which he clearly tried to put off for as long as he could before the crowd proved too relentless. But shoey aside, the band displayed a great degree of charm in their interactions, showing a genuine love for Australia, which made their performance even more endearing.

While the scope of the setlist was somewhat limited at times, HONNE still made sure that they covered the entirety of their discography, with performances of their biggest hits like “Location Unknown” and “Coming Home” proving early highlights in the setlist. Clutterback revealed that a lot of the songs on the setlist were dedications to his love for his wife and the feeling was certainly a prevailing one at the concert, with many couples in the audience to share in the moment. 

The band closed their set with a strong performance of “Day 1”, arguably their biggest hit, and left the stage with the crowd cheering for more. Overall, this was a strong concert, with the band’s fans enjoying every moment that they were on stage. With the fervour of the crowd support, it will surely not be long until HONNE are back on Australian shores again. 

Rating: ★★★★

Honne – The Roundhouse – 19^th March 2025

Photo credit: Will Coutts