Atlanta-born musician Faye Webster took to the stage of SWX amidst a sea of pining cries and cheers from the venue’s heavily compacted audience. Sporting a layered shirt combo and her tousled shag-haircut, Webster solidified her place as the laidback, alternative musician Bristol has been waiting for. The sold-out show marked what would be the last of her UK appearances celebrating the release of her most recent album, ‘Underdressed at the Symphony’. Inspired by Webster’s therapeutic visits to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the album revels in musical experimentation and playfulness, evidencing Webster’s growing confidence as an artist, who with each release, ascends higher in the league of talented young, independent artists.
As the lights dimmed across the venue, leaving only the flickering starlight of SWX’s glitter ball, eyes widened as a vast inflatable resembling a Grecian Bust expanded across the stage. Webster commenced the show with ‘But Not a Kiss’ from her most recent album as a kaleidoscope of colours beamed from wall-to-wall, reflecting within the eyes of the inflatable prop, bringing Webster’s own Frankenstein to life. With ‘Wanna Quit All the Time’ a hazy, psychedelic high possessed the audience as we swayed side to side in rhythm with the idyllic and serene croons of a steel guitar. Webster’s whisper-like vocals, accompanied by the multi instrumentalist talent of some of her closest friends, established her performance as one akin to a bedroom jam-session with pals.
The opening bars of crowd favourite ‘Right Side of My Neck’ were met with the instant, ritualistic grabbing of hands which were later raised to the heavens. Time and time again, Webster’s gift for songwriting transforms the frivolous and naive aspects of love, such as the lingering smell of partner’s perfume, into something visceral, material and relatable. Seamlessly blending traits of R&B with fusions of Indie and Country, Webster embraces her heartbreak and searches not for a cure, but for self-discovery, documenting her heartbreak along the way.
Following a nostalgic throwback to Webster’s 2021 album with track ‘I Know I’m Funny haha’, the artist breaks away from her music, taking a brief interlude to praise her ‘best friend’ and guitarist, whose birthday it is. A cake is brought out as the crowd join Webster in singing ‘Happy Birthday’.
Trading in her guitar, Webster took to the keyboard for her amorous ode ‘Jonny’, which ‘wasn’t ‘posed to be a love song’ but somehow is. Webster searches for an answer along the tumultuous course of love, asking the song’s subject for guidance and reassurance. With hypnotic sax sections and delicate keys, the band flawlessly segued into ‘Jonny (Reprise)’ featuring Webster’s poetic soft-spoken word.
Familiar favourite ‘In A Good Way’ served to further showcase the exceptional talent of Webster’s multi instrumentalist band. Breathtaking violin sections mingled with acoustic strings as the crowd continued to sway under Webster’s musical trance. After ‘He Loves Me Yeah!’ Webster departs from the stage much to the crowd’s dismay and turbulent cries for ‘one more song’.
Succumbing to the crowd’s request, Webster returns to the stage, proceeding to perform ‘Kingston’. The crowd give it their all, bellowing the all-too-familiar lyrics to one of Webster’s most popular and heavily streamed songs. As the show’s ethereal lights are replaced by the venue’s main lights and files of fans head towards the exit or bedecked merch table, memories of the mesmerising and tranquil performance continue to linger, the spell of Webster’s musical genius still not lifted.
@nevedawsonphotos @_nevedawson
My current role for TBGG is as a Reviewer, Interviewer and Photographer, which I do in my spare time when I'm not studying English Literature and History at the University of Bristol.
I'm available for reviews, previews, interviews and shoots through the company. Alongside TBGG I also write for The So Young, Groupie and Rodeo Magazines, with an aspiration to enter magazine and newspaper journalism focusing on culture and the arts.
What was your first Gig?
The first gig I remember seeing (when I wasn’t dragged around by my metal-head father) was The Killers live in my hometown of Birmingham in 2016. Brandon Flowers’s iridescent cowboy suit still blinds me to this day and echoes glamorous indie rock n’ roll for years to come.
What's your dream Gig?
I would have to say my dream gig would be seeing Hendrix’s star-spangled banner live at Woodstock ’69. Call me cliché but I was born in the wrong generation.
