Lauren Mayberry
w/ Cult of Venus
The Mil at Cannery Hall; Nashville TN
February 22, 2025
Review by Philip Obenschain. Photos by Mary-Beth Blankenship.
Though we’ve been fans of Lauren Mayberry through her acclaimed synth-pop band CHVRCHES for more than a decade now, having caught the group at early performances at spots like Exit/In and Marathon Music Works, and well as numerous festival stages over the years, only recently has the multifaceted Scottish singer stepped out on her own as a solo artist, releasing her debut LP, Vicious Creatures, back in December. We already know Mayberry to be a stellar live performer thanks to those aforementioned CHVRCHES shows, but we were quite curious and very excited to see what a performance might be like apart from her longtime bandmates (don’t worry, they’re just on hiatus, and will be back before long), and in a spot smaller than anywhere we’ve watched her perform in many years- Cannery Hall’s The Mil (the venue formerly known as Mercy Lounge). Unsurprisingly, it was a delight; a new outlet for a familiar artist, who, though newly solo, is quite comfortable and captivating on stage. Read on for our full review by editor Philip Obenschain, with photos from Mary-Beth Blankenship!
Arriving a little late from another commitment, I largely missed opener Cult of Venus, but I’m a fan of her sound, which meshes well with Lauren Mayberry’s, and hope the catch the enigmatic singer the next time she’s in town. Though this venue formerly known as Mercy Lounge has been reopened under new ownership for a year now, after the long-running, former venue complex was forced out under rather unfortunate circumstances, I realized that this was actually my first time back. I spent a LOT of time at Mercy Lounge, Cannery Ballroom, and The High Watt in the 2010s, and have some really fond memories of those rooms, so walking into a new venue in their place felt a little bittersweet. Other than a bit more streamlined entry process, and a bit of an aesthetic sprucing up, though, I was happy to find it fairly unchanged- still an intimate, somewhat industrial space with an up close and personal stage.
I’ve probably seen CHVRCHES at least half a dozen times now, mostly at festivals (I actually think it’s been 10 years since I last saw them play Nashville), but the last time I saw Lauren in a room this size was back in 2013 at Exit/In, so I was really excited to get this scaled-down experience once more. I’ve been listening to Vicious Creature off and on the last couple of months, and I really enjoy it. Though not a huge sonic leap from her band (although the absence of her two bandmates’ more DJ and electronic production ethos lends it to be a bit more straightforward indie synth-pop), it does feel a lot more thematically vulnerable, and singular to Mayberry’s artistic perspective. It’s not a super long record, so I was curious how- or if- she might fill out a set beyond it, or if she might incorporate some CHVRCHES. The answer to the latter question is no, but to the former, it was by playing the album in its entirety, adding musical interludes, telling quips and stories, and throwing in one unexpected cover.
Emerging in a leather trench coat, awash in moody lights, and backed by a pretty conventional band of stellar players (guitars, bass, drums, keys), Lauren opened the set with groovy single “Crocodile Tears,” getting up close in personal on the edge of the stage, and twirling around with the signature spins she often does at CHVRCHES shows. After the dance-primed “Change Shapes,” the coat came off, exposing a t-shirt with a message of support for the trans community (just one of many ways Mayberry would speak out on important sociopolitical causes throughout the show), with the vibey, downtempo “Matra” up next, as Lauren danced around the stage in an almost impressionistic way during musical interludes, as beams of light from above washed over her (the lights thought the show were extremely cool, especially for fairly minimalist production), and, not long after, a disco ball reflected light throughout the room.
Though she comes off a bit shy and soft-spoken at times, Mayberry can become quite chatty at shows, dryly cracking jokes, telling funny stories, but also creating quite serious and sincere moments, speaking on social issues and expressing palpable gratitude. One of the most memorable bits of banter was a story about a bad date in Nashville, where a guy literally bailed mid-date in a dive bar, and she called a friend to come rescue the night (which, I believe, was a precursor to the earnest “Shame”). After the light and etherial “Anywhere But Dancing” and the more upbeat and indie rocking “Punch Drunk,” another funny story preceding single “Something in the Air,” which contains a line about a “red, white, and blue megaphone.” Lauren had apparently ordered such a megaphone prop, only to horrifyingly discover it to be Trump merch (she promptly returned it for a red one, which, with a flashlight attached, she used during the song). One of several props of there night, Mayberry also had a red, old fashioned phone on stage which she sang into during one of the first songs.
“Something in the Air” was definitely one of the highlights of the night, and really soared live, eliciting some of the most energetic singalongs of the show, but after that high mark, Lauren took the tone down a notch and took a seat at the keyboard for vulnerable ballad “Are You Awake?” Given just how electric and huge CHVRHCES always seem to sound, it was really lovely to hear the singer in such a stripped-down way, and it landed with so much emotional weight. The lone cover of the night followed- The Verve’s classic “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” which Lauren began at the keyboard, before jumping up and letting it build into an epic, full-band crescendo; not a song I would’ve expected from her (we’re the same age, so it’s definitely a nostalgic one from our childhood), but one that worked really well.
The set really flew by- both because of how fun and hypnotizing the show was, but also simply because Mayberry only has a handful of solo songs to play, and ended the main portion with “A Work of Fiction” and “Sorry, Etc,” the latter of which is maybe my favorite track on the record, just because it sounds so different from the rest; a lot more propulsive and punk rock. Live, it lived up to my expectations, with Lauren spinning around, screaming, and getting right up in the crowd, as the band amped up to the most energy of the night. Only two tracks from the LP remained, so, no surprise, those two songs made up the encore. “Oh, Mother,” the record’s other earnest ballad, eased us back in with one last lovely moment of self-reflection, before “Sunday Best” served as a finale, boasting a lot of groove and millennial nostalgia, with Lauren joining in on a tom-tom for a percussive interlude (fun fact: she was first a drummer in local Scottish bands before becoming a full-time vocalist).
As expected, Lauren Mayberry’s solo Nashville debut was a fresh and personal snapshot of a successful artist trying something new, and the crowd- a packed room who seemed intimately familiar with her art- were clearly enamored. I love CHVRCHES and I’m sure they’ll be back before long (Mayberry said as much at this show), but I also loved seeing Lauren step out as an individual in this way, to deliver something sonically complimentary but also quite distinct. I’m not sure what the long-term plan is for this chapter (or if she even knows herself), but I’ll be all-in for whatever’s next.
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All photos by Mary-Beth Blankenship
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Setlist:
Crocodile Tears
Change Shapes
Mantra
Shame
Anywhere but Dancing
Punch Drunk
Something in the Air
Are You Awake?
Bitter Sweet Symphony (The Verve)
A Work of Fiction
Sorry, Etc
Oh, Mother
Sunday Best