Live Review: Gracie Abrams – The Secret of Us Tour in Perth 2025
16 May 2025 at the RAC Arena Perth, Western Australia
Review by Sheldon Ang
Photo by Abby Waisler
Gracie Abrams smiles while serenading the crowd with the opening verse, gently leading her fans into an alleyway of euphoria. The crowd anticipates a mighty pounce – but of a different kind, one infused with an emotionally charged trajectory. She picks up the pace of the guitar with the collective voices riding on a track that’s edging on a point of no return. The delicate falsetto and whispers switch to the chorus “Close to You.” Like a jolt of the third kind, the fans jump to the spirit of the music, with the floor and the tiers looking more like a midnight rave of the ’90s. Thousands of hands punch through the canopy of bopping heads, looking like choppy waters in the middle of a storm. Whirlpools form, fans spin in circles, and human trains wade through as chaos rips through the floor in a spectacular scene of a collective teenage dream.
“Perth, thank you so, so, much…thank you for being part of my last stop. Perth, thank you for welcoming us like this. Thank you for singing every word, I love you so, so, so, much”…and I just wanna be close to you…as she continues singing.
The RAC Arena is rocked by a human-driven seismic wave. Every moment has been an emotional climax, with fans stomping the grounds of this iconic venue, giving the Richter scale a run for its money.
Gracie Abrams has skyrocketed to fame with two albums – Good Riddance released in 2023 and the Secret of Us, released the following year. In the space of 2 years, she has managed to garner a mega fan base, drawing an arena crowd – twice over – with both nights sold out at the RAC Arena in Perth. Across Australia, similar scenes swept across Australia and the world.
An act as huge as Gracie would require a support act that fits the bill. American singer-songwriter Ashe warmed the stage as a super sub. Typically, the venue is three-quarters filled during opening acts, but not on this occasion, with every seat filled by the time she graced the stage. Her fanbase in Australia is evident by the fact that she had backup singers of 15,000. Her warm and expressive texture showcases her ability to convey a message that is pure from the heart. Her stage presence is world-class, through the likes of Running Out of Time, with the likes of Angry Woman, Pull the Plug, before finishing the night with Till Forever Falls Apart and Moral of The Story. At the back of three albums, the 32-year-old American singer-songwriter has toured with the likes of the Chain Smokers and Lauv and
After a 30-minute break, Gracie Abrams graced the stage behind the covers. The screams by the crowd were deafening, akin to the start of The Wiggles concert but with a teenage-powered propulsion. Felt Good About You was echoed by 15,000 across the venue. It was the biggest self-appointed karaoke RAC Arena had seen for a while. Every fan launched to their feet, from the lower tiers to the upper reaches of the RAC Arena. She continued with Risk, before picking the guitar string with conviction in Blowing Smoke. She ripped the guitar like Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters. Even the heartfelt ballads such as I Love You, I’m Sorry and I Miss You, I’m Sorry had a backup vocalist of 15,000 maniacal fans.
From the onset of Abrams’ live performance, it’s clear to this Gen X writer that her popularity stems from her authentic storytelling ability and the lyrics that resonate with her young listeners. That’s just 1/10 of singer-songwriters’ secret to success. It’s also evident that the booster of her success stems from her vocal delivery, infused with vulnerability and palpable sincerity. The believability factor in her voice projection is first class, driven by the nuance and the je ne sais quoi X factor that’s outpoured by the visceral expulsion through her voice. Her airy tone and breathy overlay scream vulnerability, longing, yearning, craving, and every other emotional verb.
Where Do We Go Now? was also sung with such conviction, through her soft, vulnerable vocals as she conveyed the emotional turmoil of a falling relationship. Gave You I Gave You I saw Gracie performing on the piano. Her face played the character as she exude frustration while on the piano, “You got bored and I felt used, now I’m all sad about it” emphasising the one-sided relationship. Her fans waved their phone lights, lighting the arena drawing a scene of several thousand singing creatures of the night.
An hour in, Gracie Abrams marched to the B Stage in the middle of the floor, with a replica of her bedroom, so she said. She accepted gifts from her fans, such as a paper puppet, books, and other mash-up handmade props made from the desires of their young hearts. Throughout the night, she had been reaching out to the crowd and embracing the gifts, thanking and speaking to them. The majestic blue hues from the roof beamed on Gracie Abrams, like a curtain of rainfall plunging in a six-star hotel surrounding a statue. She sang with the piano, a mash-up of Full Machine, I Know It Won’t Work, and Cedar, followed by Cool and I Miss You, I’m Sorry. This act was meant to be a subdued moment, but the fans kept the energy by reapplying themselves as backup singers.
She returned to the main stage before closing the night with That’s So True and the mega hit Close To You. The upbeat track is a contrast to Gracie’s melancholic style, leading to a perfect close for the night.
“Thank you so much for singing every word of my song.”
The last time this writer felt a similar collective energy was at Taylor Swift’s ERAS tour in Sydney in February 2024. Fifteen thousand strangers came together like best friends, united by a shared passion that transcended the idea of kindred spirits. Tonight was night 1, with both nights of the tour sold out thanks to 30,000 fans.
Within two years, Gracie Abrams has managed to draw several arena-sized crowds across Australia and the world. The staging may not be as costly as Taylor Swift’s ERAS tour, which the 26-year-old was part of the opening act in 2023, but for the smaller cities in Perth, we are grateful for that, which means touring costs are less, hence giving Perth (and Adelaide) a chance to be part of major tours. There’s no doubt Gracie Abrams’ next chapter will be a stadium tour, and we hope Perth will not be forgotten.
Gracie Abrams’ show continues tonight in Perth, closing the Secret of Us Tour of Australia and New Zealand 2025
Sheldon Ang Media would like to thank Frontier Touring and Gracie Abrams for the media accreditation.
About the Writer: The founder of Perth-based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) has been accredited to more than 180 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth), Backstreet Boys, KISS, Iron Maiden, RHCP, P!NK etc with reviews shared by the likes of Belinda Carlisle, Roxette, UB40, Delta Goodrem and Tina Arena on social media. He has interviewed rockers Suzi Quatro (pictured below), Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 70 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Radio as a music journalist.
