Finneas debuts new song at intimate London gig for first UK headline show

31 August, 2023

Finneas

Finneas performed his debut UK headline show at Electric Ballroom in London last night (August 30) and performed a brand new track. Check out the full setlist, videos and pictures below.

The artist’s ‘one night only’ gig at the 1500-capacity Camden venue came just one day after he performed alongside sister Billie Eilish at her own intimate gig, who surprised fans with guest appearances from Labrinth and Boygenius.

Finneas also performed with his pop sensation sibling a few days prior for her massive headline performances at Reading and Leeds Festivals 2023.

Minutes before Finneas’ turn yesterday, Billie emerged on the upstairs balcony overlooking the stage and was met by screams as she waved to fans. Despite suspicions she might join him later on, she left her brother to take centre stage and watched on proudly for the rest of the show. Finneas later dedicated the track ‘Only A Lifetime’ to all his family in attendance.

Where the musician is usually seen humbly standing several feet behind his sister, at his debut UK headline show he embraced his solo moment in the spotlight. “This is my first show in London,” the musician said to an eruption of cheers.“Thank you guys so much for coming, it really means a lot to me.”

He kicked off with ‘A Concert Six Months From Now’, ‘The Kids Are All Dying’ and ‘Angel’, rotating between piano, guitar and his microphone stand for the 16-song set that lasted just over an hour.

At one point, he joked that there was “a lot of remembering to do at soundcheck” as he briefly paused from touring with his sister to re-familiarise himself with his own catalogue. “It is kinda fun to be as nervous as I am coming out here playing for you guys,” he added. “Because the probability of me making mistakes is very high.”

He embraced his showmanship as he sprawled back across the piano on ‘Around My Neck’ before getting on top of it completely. Someone also threw him a Union Jack flag which he later laid across the instrument.

Other high-energy moments arrived with ‘I Lost A Friend’, for which he got right down to the barrier with fans, and penultimate track ‘Till Forever Falls Apart’, after which he did a rockstar jump off the piano and onto the stage.

The singer went on to share that he thinks he will do some touring next year, an unofficial announcement that was soon followed by the debuting of a sombre new piano-led track, which fans think could potentially be called ‘Starfucker’. You can watch footage below.

In the final act of his set, Finneas confessed to the London crowd that their city had “really, really, really bad Mexican food”, but that they made up for it by having “the best audiences”.

“It’s not even close, I don’t know if any of you have ever seen a show in a place like Los Angeles or New York, it’s night and day,” he added. “You couldn’t be a better audience to perform for.” You can check out the full set list below.

Back in 2021, Finneas spoke to NME about his solo music endeavours when he released his debut album ‘Optimist’ while also reflecting on his special bond with Billie and their first major viral hit, ‘ocean eyes’.

“It gave us something from nothing, which is so unbelievable,” Finneas recalled. “So I always have this profound gratitude for that song – obviously, our careers have been built on different moments since then, but that was the thing without which we never had anything.”

Finneas’ setlist was:

‘A Concert Six Months From Now’
‘The Kids Are All Dying’
‘Angel’
‘Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa’
‘I Don’t Miss You At All’
‘Only a Lifetime’
‘Around My Neck’
‘Partners in Crime’
‘Naked’
‘Medieval’
‘I Lost a Friend’
‘The 90s’
Unreleased song
‘Break My Heart Again’
‘Till Forever Falls Apart’
‘Let’s Fall in Love for the Night’

Reviewing ‘Optimist’ in 2021, NME said that “the other half of the Eilish success story has earned a reputation as a fearsome talent in his own right – and he delivers spectacularly here”.

It added: “‘Optimist’ is an accomplished first album that really shines and, given Finneas’ track record so far, we wouldn’t have expected anything less.”

The post Finneas debuts new song at intimate London gig for first UK headline show appeared first on NME.