City Recital Hall might just be our new favourite gig spot – hands down
The Sydney CBD venue, known more for classical concerts than indie darlings, ditched the seats for Soccer Mommy last night (June 12), transforming the space into a standing general admission dreamscape.
Turns out, it’s the perfect venue to get a little emotional with a few hundred strangers.
Back in Australia for the first time in years, Sophie Allison – aka Soccer Mommy – is touring her latest record Evergreen, her most personal and stripped-back release to date.
In addition to last night’s Vivid Sydney set, she’s playing Rising in Melbourne tonight (June 13), and heading to smaller stages in Torquay, Castlemaine and Perth later this month.
The show itself was impossibly intimate. You could hear a pin drop between songs, not because people weren’t having a good time, but because they were fully locked in.
Quiet, reverent, but not stiff. Sophie was unwell and performed the entire set seated (bar a brief rally during the encore), but honestly, it only added to the hazy, unhurried charm of the night.
She was sharp, sincere, and just self-deprecating enough – her version of stage banter equal parts deadpan and endearing.
The crowd was a mixed bag: twenty-somethings in oversized flannel, older couples swaying gently, tight-knit groups of friends mouthing every word.
There were even a few teens clutching tote bags, looking like they’d just stepped out of an A24 film.
At one point, Sophie dedicated the song “Abigail” to a girl named Abigail standing right at the front, which pretty much summed up the kind of gig it was: low-key, personal, and full of tiny moments that made it feel like you were part of something rare.
Here’s the full setlist for the setlist nerds:
Setlist:
Abigail
circle the drain
Driver
Bones
Shotgun
Dreaming of Falling
Cool
Thinking of You
Some Sunny Day
Lost
Still Clean
crawling in my skin
Salt in Wound
Encore:
Don’t Ask Me
She ended with “Don’t Ask Me,” standing tall for the final song and pushing through with what little energy she had left. It was a quiet triumph, the kind of closer that leaves you blinking back tears and holding your breath.
Soccer Mommy has described Evergreen as an album shaped by grief but not bogged down by it. “My writing helps me work through my emotions and come out the other side with more clarity,” she’s said. “Sharing it with people can kind of feel like letting it go.” That sentiment was palpable in the room last night—there was a heaviness, sure, but it was the kind that feels shared, softened by guitar fuzz and communal listening.
For those who can, go see her while she’s still in town. Just maybe bring tissues.
