Kyle Lionhart- Live At the Giant Dwarf Theatre, Redfern

Being a coastal folk show with tickets going for $15 I saw absolutely nothing to lose in buying my ticket to Kyle Lionhart’s largest ever Sydney performance. In fact, I was far from disappointed and in all honesty, was left questioning how this man could charge a mere $15 for the service he had provided the audience.

The opening act was Canadian born, Byron Bay folk artist Garrett Kato. He was a tone setter to say the least, with stripped back versions of his originals and some humbling yet inspiring stories.

After his extremely strong set, one must have wondered how the main act, Kyle Lionhart himself, could top what Garrett had just served up. However, from the first note of Kyle’s opening track Slow Sips, the audience was amazed by the simple presence of his performance. Kyle went on to play all the tracks of his debut EP, “Keep in Mind,” with tracks from his forthcoming body of work scattered throughout the set. He hinted at a release date sometime this summer, however no title was revealed. Each song played by both Kyle and Garrett were performed with guitar and a kick drum, providing a strong and raw energy within the room. This, accompanied by a near perfect vocal, granted an extremely powerful and versatile show, the style of performance allowing for a much more raw, emotional and overall completely different musical composition to that heard in Kyle’s recorded tracks.

Between most songs Kyle presented himself to the audience in a natural and human manner, telling tales and stories about his childhood, parents, struggles and loves throughout his life as well as how they shaped his music. This story telling progressively led to a strong and interactive relationship between audience and performer, the extreme level of intimacy making the show even more memorable.

Highlights of the night included Kyle’s witty remarks about various audience members, his hilarious stories and the combined laughter after he broke a guitar string while performing his final song. The entire set list proved to be very intriguing and unique in each track. The audience’s sing along on Kyle’s track “Sleep By Rivers”, the incredible high notes Kyle nailed on “Slow Sips”, and a new rendition of his latest single“Compromise” were all amazing moments.

Not only did I happily manage to give Kyle a big hug after the show, (he claimed he was good at hugging strangers,) I also gained a new understanding of what an intimate and powerful performance truely is, all for the amazing value of $15.