Stella Donnelly at The Triffid

“My friend told me of a secret
Told me that she blames herself
You invaded her magnificence
Put your hand over her mouth”

Stella Donnelly doesn’t shy away from the truth. That’s what I like about her. She’s a songwriter with an unflinching take on things, someone who interrogates life as well as embraces it. Then she sets those experiences to song. There’s nothing contrived in the way she does it.

Before Beware of the Dogs I felt like I’d been sleepwalking through 2019's music for a while. But with this record Donnelly hit me. I think what reached out and grabbed me was the sincerity. To me, it felt like she was writing songs, not just telling stories about what it’s like growing up and living in the world today but capturing the emotion that goes with it.

Tonight, the crowd loves her. Donnelly walks onstage radiating confidence and conviction. It's not all serious though, there’s a skip to her step that tells you this is going to be fun. As those around me erupt in cheers of recognition, Stella breaks into her first song. The audience is ready, singing it back to her word-for-word.

After strumming a few numbers solo the band joins her for Beware of the Dogs’ leading single ‘Old Man’. I’m not sure what I like about this song so much. Probably the attitude, the guitar line and the personality she projects onto the words when she sings them. There’s something in the way she puts it across that can pierce your heart. Not always, but sometimes. There’s an overall verve to the song too, I don’t know. What is certain is that I’m not alone in enjoying its moment. The energy of hundreds around me lifts when she breaks into those opening chords.

The set continues. ‘Mosquito’ is a crowd pleaser. ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ comes late, another highlight.

The night closes out with Donnelly, the band and her two supports acts joining together for a cover of Cyndi Lauper's ‘Time After Time’. I’m not that big on these kinds of things but clearly, I’m a malcontent because the rest of the crowd is ecstatic. It’s a good place to end it.

The energy and emotion of the performance sits heavy in the air well after the Stella and her band have slipped away. I like to think that there might be something to this, that the music has catalysed the world in some way for the better, nudged everyone here somewhere slightly closer to a better place. But then again, it might just have been good solid old-fashioned entertainment. And I can’t fault it there.

I leave happy. I don’t think I have any grand cosmic conclusion about Donnelly just yet, but I know that there’s more to unpack in her music and I’m looking forward to spending time with it. There’s also that brief glimmering promise of the future, I’m excited for what’s coming next. 

Words by Riley Fitzgerald