September 09 2022: “Welcome back!” an audience member calls out to a smiling Hatchie, who is on stage and has given a shoutout to the Melbourne crowd she’s performing to, at the Corner Hotel in Richmond.

“How many of you were at the Night Cat too?” she asks, referring to her last gig in Melbourne back in February 2022.

Several hands shoot up across the venue, hinting at the sizeable following the Brisbane-born singer, songwriter and bassist has amassed over the last few years.

The size of her fan base is also illustrated by a community of more than 210 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify.

This Friday night, she entertained the Melbourne crowd in the last show of the Australian leg of her tour, performing her 12-track sophomore album ‘Giving The World Away’ which notched up a 6.7 rating on Pitchfork.

With the help of her bandmates, Hatchie (née Harriette Pilbeam) journeys in the realms of dream pop and shoegaze music, hugely inspired by the 90s.

Leading up to the night, the singer took to Instagram to remind followers of her upcoming show and introduce supporting artists Winter and Phoebe Go while avid fans expressed their excitement on Twitter.

As the performances start, it’s easy to appreciate how well Hatchie and her team have picked the up-and-coming opening artists; each of their sounds differ yet reside in the same sonic universe.

The main event follows, as Hatchie and her band enter – and the stage takes on a new life.

The lighting is carefully orchestrated to set the perfect mood for each song; hues of pink and purple for cute pop track ‘Try’ and shades of green and orange for grungy rock anthem ‘The Rhythm.’

The band customises each song by bringing out special hand percussion items, like a tambourine and even a triangle.

Along with top hits from Giving The World Away, Hatchie performs throwbacks from her older EP ‘Sugar & Spice’ and first album ‘Keepsake’, and also shares a cover of Jennifer Paige’s ‘Crush’, which a concertgoer appreciated as “a blast from the past”.

As the show wraps up, a merchandise stall awaits featuring t-shirts, vinyls, CDs, and more, from all three artists who performed.

Local gigs like this help support budding artists like Hatchie, especially when performing in their own countries.

With the COVID-19 pandemic and consecutive lockdowns in states like Victoria, musicians and artists in general were hit hard.

Artists like Hatchie have spoken about the impact the lockdown had on their livelihoods, such as having to work part-time jobs while recording music as and when they could.

That’s why it’s great to see the Victorian government encourage residents to support local artists by buying tickets and attending gigs like these.

If you’re keen to see Hatchie you might be able to catch her at one of her dreamy shows in the EU where she’s currently touring before continuing on to the U.S – check out tour dates and more information at https://www.hatchie.net