Lauren Mayberry in Massachusetts – February 11, 2025
Lauren Mayberry is best-known as the lead singer of the Glaswegian synth-pop trio CHVRCHES, but for the last year and a half she has taken the chance to release and perform her debut solo album, Vicious Creature. She returned to Massachusetts for her second headlining tour, accompanied by Cult Of Venus, as fans flocked to The Sinclair in Cambridge.
Cult Of Venus
Cult Of Venus began the show with a minimalistic performance of pulsing synth and ethereal vocals. She performed alone on the unembellished and dimly-lit stage, armed only with a keyboard, guitar, and microphone, but she enraptured a steadily-growing crowd throughout her short set. Fans were receptive to her layered, atmospheric music, and they were quick to vocalize their appreciation.
Lauren Mayberry
The crowd cheered their approval when Lauren Mayberry emerged into view, and picked up a rotary phone to pointedly sing the opening line “you pick up the phone to start a chain reaction,” of the jaunty “Crocodile Tears.” Her theatrical flair permeated the show as she danced and posed across the stage in a dazzling silver dress that matched the disco ball nearby. Mayberry and her touring bandmates performed the entirety of Vicious Creature, and as if to underline the album’s 90’s alternative influence, they also added a cover of The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony.” Another prop made a brief appearance as Mayberry wielded a megaphone to sing the lyrics “screaming through a red, a white, a blue megaphone” during the politically-charged banger “Something In The Air.” The pugilistic energy of songs like “Punch Drunk” and “Sorry, Etc” was nestled in the setlist between the more sober “Anywhere But Dancing” and “Oh, Mother” as the concert progressed through the 12 songs of Mayberry’s debut LP. After commenting that perceptive fans probably realized that she had run through almost all of her songs, she concluded her fantastic set with an excellent performance of “Sunday Best.”
Throughout the evening, Mayberry occasionally paused between songs to banter with the crowd, revealing a contrast between her dual nature as the assertive, self-assured performer and the funny, self-deprecating artist cracking jokes and then immediately apologizing. She noted specific fans who mimicked looks from album art and wore CHVRCHES merch. She also took the time to proudly shout out the young girls present in the audience, and she even made it through six whole songs before accidentally swearing. It was not lost on her that many longtime fans had come out to support her solo endeavor, and she made a point of repeatedly expressing her gratitude to fans new and old.
Lauren Mayberry might be fresh into her solo career, but she has already had extensive experience touring her new music over the course of both American and European headlining tours, in addition to tours supporting The Postal Service/Death Cab for Cutie as well as London Grammar. That marathon of near-constant performing over the course of the last year, combined with her general expertise as the front woman of CHVRCHES undoubtedly translated to a polished showing at The Sinclair. It’s with that hard-earned confidence that Lauren Mayberry dominated the stage and left fans wanting more.
