Walking into the O2 Academy Brixton on 26th April, there was a quiet kind of anticipation in the room, the kind that comes with a band people feel deeply attached to. Big Thief have built that kind of relationship with their audience, and it was obvious from the start.
At the centre of it all is Adrianne Lenker, who is, quite simply, incredible live. There’s something so unforced about the way she performs. Nothing feels exaggerated or overworked. Her voice carries this fragile clarity that holds the entire room without ever needing to push for it. It’s understated, but completely commanding.
The set moved between older favourites and newer material with a kind of ease that made it all feel cohesive. Tracks like ‘Change’, ‘Simulation Swarm’, and ‘Double Infinity’ were standout moments, each one stretching slightly in a live setting, giving the band space to play and shift within the music rather than just recreate it. That looseness is part of what makes them so compelling- even though nothing feels fixed, it all feels intentional.
This sense of openness in the performance carried through even with the collaborators they brought onstage. Laraaji joined for parts of the set, adding a more textural, almost meditative layer, especially in the encore. ‘Incomprehensible’ in that closing stretch felt expansive and immersive, leaning into something softer and more atmospheric. Dylan Meek also joined for a song, contributing beautifully to the shared musical space that Big Thief were creating.
One of the most affecting moments of the night came when Lenker played ‘not a lot, just forever’. It’s already an emotionally heavy song, but live it felt even more stripped back, and almost fragile in the way it held the room.
If there’s anything to say, it’s only in the spirit of being slightly greedy. There’s always going to be something you wish made the setlist (‘anything’ and ‘Certainty’) but that feels more like a reflection of how strong their catalogue is.
What Big Thief do so well is resist over-polishing anything. The beauty of the set was in its looseness, its willingness to let moments breathe, stretch, or sit in silence a little longer than expected.
The end of the set didn’t have a dramatic finish, but it left behind something magical that lingered long after the lights came up, leaving everyone in a sort of trance for their commute home.
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Words: Tara Choudhary
Photographer: Molly Boniface