LIVE: Lissie; The Fleece, Bristol
Lissie's been a regular visitor to UK shores over the last decade or so, her debut album, Catching A Tiger, made it big here before any success in her home nation. And thanks to the record-buying public, this consistently reliable, and reliably ace, performer is back for her 2024 tour, the six dates stretching across the UK.
Tonight's show is at The Fleece in Bristol, an appropriately hardy and down-home venue that hosts many great beers and a bunch of posts that keep the roof up while blocking some views. It’s elevated stage, though, really does make the experience much better and should be copied by other venues.
But to Lissie. She enters the stage in a totally on-brand outfit of jeans and a loose fitting shirt, her hair in a top knot. And she’s straight into it with ‘Sleepwalking’, followed by a 15 song set mixing songs from across her five studio albums. There are deep cuts like “Going For A Walk’, old favorites like closing trio ‘Everywhere I Go’ (The singalong of the night), ‘In Sleep’, and ‘When I’m Alone’, and new favourites like ‘Night Moves’ and ‘Flowers’ from Carving Canyons, her most recent record.
It’s a great setlist made all the better by Lissie’s on-stage presence, the Illinois native is easy-going, honest, and just extremely charming. She’s kind and has a warmth that draws you into the music, as does her exuberance in playing the songs. Lissie performs a solo acoustic set with more energy than most performers playing with a full band; there’s nothing pared back about this show.
Find out more about Lissie, on her official website. Check out where she is (not in a weird stalky way) on Instagram.