Gig Review: Sofia Machray @ Meow, Wellington – 11/08/2023

On Friday, I had the pleasure of being a part of the bustling crowd at the Te-Whanganui-a-Tara leg of Sofia Machray’s Language of Flowers EP Release Tour!

The night began with Mirror Ritual’s dreamy, percussion-heavy rock. Their set was full of delayed guitar, lush synths, crashing drums, and bass that you could feel in your chest. Their set was perfectly balanced, making sure to include instrumental numbers where their musicianship was on full display. The crowds were nodding their heads and enjoying the energy they were creating. Even bringing out a flute for one of their pieces, Mirror Ritual felt like they were mind-reading each other the whole night, vibrating the whole room with their incredible dynamic range. Mirror Ritual showcased fantastic stage presence, teasing new and soon-to-be-released music a couple of times throughout the night, and overall was such a fantastic act to watch.

In the break between acts, watching the setup was mesmerising! Sofia is strong with the flowers theme, the projection showcasing flowers blooming, there were flowers on her mic stand, and when Sofia came out, she was draped in a flowing dress, encapsulating the vibes of her music so well. The audience was filled with Sofia’s long-time fans, close friends, fans of the indie music scene, and even the person who sewed her gorgeous dress! It was so lovely to see a loyal crowd, with partners swaging, and long-time fans clapping during the bridge of one of the songs. Sofia’s band was tight, and it fit together so well! The cello melted into Sofia’s voice, and the drums, bass, and guitar all had their moments to shine, uplifting each song we heard from the EP. My personal favourite of the night was hearing Between Now and Then live, almost being reinvented with the full band.

I thought it was so sweet that towards the end of the night, Sofia held up a massive list of people to thank, making sure that everyone that was a part of making the EP and tour come together, was acknowledged, and appreciated. Sofia had the crowd in the palm of her hand the whole night, and she treated us to one more song at the end, closing the show with an obvious fan favourite – squeals of joy could be heard sporadically around the venue. She brought out her harmonica for what I would regard as the perfect song to end on, finishing the night with the lyrics “carry me home.”

This was such an exciting night, and a wonderful leg of the tour for Sofia Machray’s debut EP Language of Flowers.