Maren Morris at Royal Albert Hall

Imogen reviews the last show of Maren Morris’ GIRL Tour at the Royal Albert Hall, with support from Rae Lynn.

Maren Morris completed the last leg of her international GIRL Tour at the Royal Albert Hall, with support from Rae Lynn and a surprise guest appearance by Niall Horan. The show was a powerhouse performance from an artist destined for super stardom. Morris put on a show that should deservedly put her in the position to be in for the running for CMA ‘Entertainer of the Year’ (a female winner already feels long overdue). It was clear just how much the performance meant to Morris, to be performing at the Royal Albert Hall, and the audience delivered the energy and emotion right back to her, singing back every breath to both her albums.

 

Maren Morris‘ rise to fame over the past three years, since ‘Hero’ in 2016, has been stratospheric. With her third single, ‘I Could Use A Love Song’ earning her her first number one, last year Morris’ name was kicked into the mainstream with her successful cross-over single ‘The Middle‘ with Zedd. Her sophomore album, ‘Girl,’ was one of the most anticipated of the year, adding another notch to her belt with another number one hit.

Kicking off the performance, Maren literally rose to the occasion with the opening bass notes of ‘Girl’ as she ascended through the stage with her guitar. Belting her female empowerment anthem, Morris exuded star power from the moment she got on stage, owning the stage with an enviably easy confidence. From the first to last note, Morris’ vocals were sublime. It is easy to overlook just how gorgeous and unique her tone is, given the strength of her song-writing.

Moving on from ‘Girl,’ Morris confidently transitioned into ‘The Feels’ and the audience was swept along with her in a tide of emotion. It was clear here how the crowd had lived every breath of the record for the past few months since its release, singing back not just the lyrics but mimicking the beautifully handled instrumentation, building into the first huge sing along of the night ’80s Mercedes’ that had the entire theatre on their feet. It was clear here that the set-list had been thoughtfully and tenderly created, ebbing back to ‘A Song For Everything,’ before stripping the sound back again into ‘To Hell and Back.’ Listening to the audience’s response to the opening of each track made it easy to forget that each track was not a single but often a deep-cut of the album. It is testament to the commitment of Morris’ fan-base that ‘All My Favourite People,’ not yet a single, earned one of the biggest cheers of the night. This last provided a beautiful moment in the set, Morris yet again showing her support and love for female artistry, sharing the stage with her support act Rae Lynn in lieu to Brothers’ Osborne. This live version amped up an already huge studio track and is definitely one that will stand the test of time.

‘I Could Use A Love Song’ was up next. I’ve been lucky enough to witness Morris’ performances several times over the past few years and this last made it hugely clear just how far Morris has come, not just in knowing herself as an artist but in the confidence of her live performances. When Niall Horan then walked on the stage for a surprise performance of ‘Seeing Blind,’ the response felt almost muted in comparison to the response Morris was able to elicit with her own performance and stunning vocals.

After the sweeter ‘Seeing Blind,’ Morris dived back into the more sultry part of her record with ‘Make Out With Me’ and ‘Gold Love’ that are the real signposts for the direction for Morris’ music in future into territory that is neither solely country nor pop, but rather Maren Morris as an artist in her own unique right. Nowhere was this artistry more evident than where she was joined on stage by a live female string quartet for ‘Good Woman’ that provided yet another layer to that huge anthem, highlighting beautifully the stunning tone of her vocals. The range of her voice was demonstrated further in ‘Once’ and ‘Second Wind/Halo’ that stopped me in my tracks. With the power of her songwriting and live performance (swagger, for want of a better word), it is easy to sideline just how phenomenal a vocalist Morris truly is.

Rounding out the show ‘Rich’ and ‘My Church’ had the crowd again on their feet, in a frenzy, turning the Royal Albert Hall into a giant sing(shout)along. Returning to the stage, with her encore, Morris dove straight into ‘Shade,’ before introducing her last song of the night ‘The Middle’ – the song that ‘literally changed [her] life.’ This ending note definitively positioned Morris as a superstar, the only direction here appears to be toward a stadium tour.

It was immensely clear that the crowd were with Morris every step of the way, many having been fans since her first performance of ‘My Church’ at C2C 2016. Morris herself reminisced about that performance, looking back on it as one of the first moments when an audience had sung back to her songs. This performance at the Royal Albert Hall was one of the best live concerts I’ve ever witnessed, and Morris support of her other female artists makes her success feel not just overdue but deserved. Her growth has been a beautiful thing to witness.

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Set List

1. GIRL
2. The Feels
3. 80s Mercedes
4. A Song for Everything
5. To Hell and Back
6. All My Favourite People
7. I Could Use A Love Song
8. Seeing Blind (with Niall Horan)
9. Make Out With Me
10. Gold Love
11. Flavour
12. Second Wind/Halo
13. Good Woman
14. Once
15. The Bones
16. RSVP
17. Rich
18. My Church
19. Shade
20. The Middle