Gigi Perez is one of the most exciting new artists around at the moment, with a rich, smoky voice that has captivated the world and led to global social media stardom, with a gig at the Laneway Festival capping off what has been a stellar recent run for her. As part of her Australian tour she is doing some festival sideshows and took to the stage at the Enmore Theatre for an intimate gig after Laneway, much to the delight of her Aussie fans. 

When she took to the stage, Perez was greeted by warm, rapturous applause, with the audience clearly appreciating the presence of someone who they idolised. The most immediate thing that stands out with Perez is the strength of her voice, with power being showcased from the very start of the set. She kicked off her set with “Please Be Rude,” before moving into “When She Smiles” and “Sleeping,” which provided an excellent contrast to the power of the start of the set with some tenderness to show just how versatile Perez is.

The singer-songwriter frequently monologued between songs, revealing that it was her birthday, which led to an impromptu “Happy Birthday” chorus from the audience. Perez was incredibly affable in between songs, sharing very personal anecdotes with a heavy dose of humour throughout. She also performed some covers, including a beautiful rendition of Blondshell’s “Arms,” which she said was by a singer-songwriter that she greatly admired. It was another opportunity to hear the fragility in her voice, which was very well received by the audience.

While often concerts can have quite a casual audience, this was not the case with this show, with the audience living and breathing Perez’s every word and singing along with every lyric, which meant that it was a very joyous atmosphere in the theatre. After some more beautiful songs like “At the Beach, in Every Life,” she performed the powerful “Sugar Water” with her sister, Bella Perez, before closing out the night with her iconic smash hit, “Sailor Song,” which had the audience in a frenzy as they sung along to every word, with only Perez’s powerful voice shining over them.

Perez showed off a great deal of musicality during the set with some incredible guitar playing and her band was absolutely fantastic too, with some particularly virtuosic guitar solos being a highlight. It is very clear that this is a performer with her star on the rise, and given the quality of her musicianship, it seems that there is no doubt that she has an incredibly bright future ahead, even after such huge success already. 

Overall, this was a fantastic show with beautiful music and songwriting and wonderful execution. Even in the intimate venue of the Enmore Theatre, Perez showed that she truly is a star, and it will not be a surprise to anyone when she is inevitably headlining a much larger venue on her next tour. A great night out for her many fans and a beautiful night of music.

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Gigi Perez – Enmore Theatre – 10 February 2025