By Arianna Balsamo, Music Subeditor
On a cold, rainy typical Bristol night, stepping into The Fleece felt like entering a pocket of warmth, thanks in no small part to the evening’s openers. Gracie Friel set the tone with rich vocals filling the room and tracks like ‘Gritted Teeth.’
Friel’s performance was followed by Cece Coakley, who has been accompanying Nell Mescal on The Closest We’ll Get (2025) tour. Coakley’s set did not disappoint, as she blessed us with her brand new single ‘Marionette,’ released on 6 November, which stood out as a particular highlight to me. Her mellow indie folk sound made for a perfect lead into the main act.
Despite this being Nell Mescal’s first solo tour, you would never know it. Her stage presence and confidence were highly impressive; she came onto the stage with such ease that made the crowd feel like longtime friends rather than strangers. Between songs she chatted openly about her relationships, the stories behind tracks like ‘Carried Away,’ and the various experiences that shaped her writing.
Looking around the crowd beneath the cool blue lights of The Fleece, her audience was an intriguing mixture of predominantly young girls and couples screaming every lyric at the front, with some who hung a little further back, taking her music in at a distance.
Mescal’s setlist blended her recent album with some older tracks, including a raw performance of ‘Thin’, perhaps the emotional peak of the night. She also treated the audience to several tracks from Can I Miss It for a Minute? (2024).
As the show neared its end, ‘Sweet Relief’ emerged as a standout closer, definitely still holding the title as my favourite song by her.
What struck me most about the show was her voice. Mescal’s tone is lovely on record, but live, there is an unexpected power behind it, a belting strength that her studio work does not entirely reveal. It is something that would be very exciting to see explored more on her next EP.
Nell now only has three more shows left in Ireland, which will mark the end of the The Closest We’ll Get tour, although I am certain that we will be fortunate to see and hear much more of her in Bristol in the coming years.
Nell Mescal | Arianna Balsamo
Featured Image: Nell Mescal | Pomona / Tia Johnson
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