Last Friday, I found myself at Cannery Hall’s The Mil in the heart of Nashville.
As I walked the brick stairs up to the main stage, I was surrounded by teenaged ticket buyers with colorful outfits and friendly faces, and instantly felt secure as I waited for the opening act that night. I was in for a treat when the stage lights changed to a purple-bluish color, and singer-songwriter Brye walked onstage for the opening set of Leanna Firestone’s Becoming Unbecoming Tour.
Brye’s set was simply magical. The writer of one of 2020’s most viral Tik Tok songs, “Lemons,” came across incredibly down to earth. She offered the crowd a slice of vulnerability right off the bat, opening up about her experience with eating disorder recovery and showcasing a piece from her 2023 album, Recover. The crowd was celebratory with her, as she shared after a difficult road of five years, she finally felt free in her own skin.
Brye chose to follow up with a satirical yet comforting anthem where she chose to include some of the “thought stoppers” she used during her recovery period to help her change her perspective and actions revolving around healthy weight gain. “When my thoughts get mean what should I do? Disengage! When I feel shame about eating food, eat it anyway!“
She not only proved her writing ability throughout her set to be strong, but also gave insight to some of her more recently developed production skills on a teased release written by her and alternate pop artist Tessa Violet. The song, which was produced by Brye herself, shed light on how one can choose to see their body as their friend and not their enemy, and all the good that comes with recognizing this.
Firestone soon made an appearance shortly after Brye’s set, and was warmly greeted by a highly anticipatory audience. Sporting a red corset top that read “Keep Out!” and knee high boots, she graced the stage with an air of professionalism like few others. She opened with the ever sarcastic mantra, “COOL!,” which whipped the audience into a frenzy. After bringing the energy with songs like “foreverever” and “God and the Government,” Firestone took to the piano to express what it feels like to “feel unlovable, which also sometimes means you’re psychic, with “2 weeks notice.” The tune compared the quitting of a job to your partner quitting a relationship, in which, according to her, you can usually tell it’s going to happen, whether you have a warning or not.
For songs like “ESOEMOEHOED,” I was surrounded by groups of sentimental chorusers, clinging to each other as they sang along to words that they perhaps felt they could connect to their own lives in one way or another. Firestone shared about her challenging relationship with her father, and followed with music that deals with being stuck between a rock and a hard place, between missing someone while also trying to get over the pain they’ve put you through.
Between vibe switches and vulnerable moments, Firestone so easily balanced out her performances with jokes of her own, almost enough for “comedic performance” to be on the bill.
From sharing a tweet she found at 19 that “changed her life,” to coming up with relatable quips in between songs, she brought a lovely balance of funny and emotional openness, and bounced between the two with impeccable timing.
Firestone’s latest single, “Becoming Unbecoming” is out now for the world to hear, and fans of hers can see her live in cities across the US and the UK from now through November.
