As far as accolades go, praise from Elvis Costello, Elton John and Paul McCartney is about as strong as a singer can get. For Ron Sexsmith, this praise is absolutely warranted, as the Canadian singer-songwriter has built a career off writing some of the most beautiful lyrics going around, with gorgeous material from his debut work in 1985 to his latest album released in 2025. Last touring Australia over 10 years ago, Sexsmith returned to the Harbour City for an intimate night at the City Recital Hall, which was the perfect venue for the Canadian with its wonderful acoustics showcasing the precision and clarity of his songwriting. 

“When I got here I thought this place is way too big for me,” said Sexsmith to laughter from the audience as he took to the stage. “It doesn’t guarantee you’ll all be here by the end, I guess.”

Sexsmith treated the audience to a wonderful display of the breadth of his discography, with a number of songs off his acclaimed new album Hangover Terrace, which were received well by the audience. The beauty of his songwriting was evident from the start of the set with “Please Don’t Tell Me Why” drawing the audience in before Sexsmith played “Strawberry Blonde” quite early, which showed off the fragility of his voice but also the beauty of his songwriting. As he blended social observation with melancholy, one could not help but draw parallels to the modern-day songwriters in the charts like Taylor Swift, who have sought to emulate a similar style of storytelling, with “Strawberry Blonde” having a very similar vibe to Swift’s “Betty” in particular. In any case, it was a lovely moment and the performance was much appreciated by the audience.

Throughout the performance, Sexsmith gave the audience vignettes into his life, showcasing his penchant for storytelling and connection with his audience. Sexsmith would be the first to say that his voice is not technically the absolute best out there but it has that storytelling quality that just draws people in and gives them something to work with and this was very much the case as his voice reverberated around the beautiful City Recital Hall while he shared his beautiful songs with his audience.

Sexsmith alternated between the piano and his guitar, with “Worried Song” on the piano being another highlight that showed off his beautiful songwriting. In some of his more falsetto driven songs like “Hard Bargain”, he struggled a little more vocally which did detract at times but the purity of his instrumentation and his writing meant that this was quickly forgotten.

There was also quite a bit of spontaneity to the setlist, with Sexsmith performing “Wastin’ Time” as a last minute request from a fan backstage. He shared the story that this song was written when he was working as a courier in Toronto and it really tugged at the heartstrings as it reflected on time passing in youth, as some in the audience surreptitiously got out their phones to film this beautiful moment. A cover of Warren Zevon’s “The Heartache” was another highlight of the set, while “God Loves Everyone” was a little pitchy but also a lovely song before he delighted the audience with the sublime “Gold in Them Hills”. After thanking the audience and noting that this was the biggest crowd that he had ever played in Sydney, Sexsmith closed out the set with a three song encore to delight the audience with some more gorgeous songwriting to close out the night. 

Overall, this was a wonderful night of music which showed off the breadth of Sexsmith’s songwriting and gave the audience a real treat in a real craftsman of an ilk that we do not often see take the stage in Australia. The City Recital Hall was a great venue to show off Sexsmith’s work and the audience definitely got what they wanted as demonstrated by the lengthy standing ovation after the set. A great night of wonderful music.

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Ron Sexsmith – City Recital Hall – 18 April 2026