Courtney Barnett displays punk edge at Surly Brewing Festival Field

Courtney Barnett released her second album Tell Me How You Really Feel in May of this year and it’s excellent. On tour to support the new album, the Australian indie-rocker hit Surly Festival Field in Minneapolis with a fun and loose set on a perfect summer night. With head hanging punk guitar hooks, and a unique deadpan vocal delivery, Barnett was both charming and captivating.

Songs like “Nameless, Faceless” sounded especially crunchy and had the front of the stage crowd moving, while the rest in attendance admired the show from the grassy perimeters. The night ended with “Pedestrian at Best” from Barnett’s well-received 2015 debut Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. The song pounded hard with a Nirvana-esque groove and had the crowd jumping, contrasting heavily to Barnett’s poppier and more chill tunes.

Courtney Barnett played an awesome set at Surly Brewing Festival Field. Nearly stealing the show however, was Memphis, TN based singer-songwriter Julien Baker who opened. Her set was intense and chilling, nearly bringing tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. Baker sings with her soul on full display and she sounded absolutely exceptional. I highly recommend checking out her music.

Julien Baker