Live Review: Laufey in Perth 2026 – The Talented Ms Eclectic
The clock is ticking to the final countdown – literally, as the sound of sweeping hands cuts through a fanfare filled with maniacal teenage dreams, in a place and time when jazz music was supposed to have faded away well before the turn of the millennium.
But tell that to 15,000 Laufey fans in Perth, mainly Gen Z and high schoolers, standing shoulder to shoulder in the orchestra pit as they sway in cadence, mirroring the beautiful elegance unfolding on stage, where strings, contemporary musicians and ballerinas frame the spectacle.
Laufey (pronounced “lay-vay”) Lín Bīng Jónsdóttir is a two-time Grammy-winning Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Jazz and classical music are in her DNA. Born in Reykjavík, her mother is a classical violinist, and her grandfather was a violin professor in China. She’s a classically trained cellist and pianist, and was inducted into the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at age 15 as a cello soloist. She won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2024 for Bewitched and again in 2026 for A Matter of Time.
Perhaps the album was serendipitously named, as it was only a matter of time before she exploded into an arena world tour, kicking off the Australia/New Zealand leg in Perth and travelling to the six capital cities. Three shows will be held at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and two in Sydney. Looking at our surroundings, it’s fair to conclude that Laufey has reintroduced jazz to a younger generation on a grand scale.
So at 8:30 pm, the lights dip into semi-darkness for the commencement of Act 1, as our eyes are directed to the centre-stage prop: a fantasy arch bridge with steps on both sides.
The bridge was designed to frame Laufey as if she were stepping into a dream sequence from some fairy tale, once upon a time. The projector then beams onto the stage wall with silent movie-era italics: “Laufey Presents… A Matter of Time”. The orchestra and band howl with the haunting sounds of a carousel, and silhouettes of horses run across the stage wall. Think of The Phantom of the Opera – the haunting darkness enveloping those mystical chills. Tik tok, tik tok, tik tok.
Laufey appears through the arch, prancing onto the stage with the demeanour of a Disney princess, looking above at the yellow spotlight as lights spear across the arena, introducing herself to over 15,000 Perth fans. Donned in a butter-yellow 1950s gown that glows under the purple stage lights, she is utterly dazzling, her dress sprinkled with floral embellishment across the bodice. She pairs it with gold low-heeled Mary Janes, beaming with the vintage glow of cinematic radiance. The young and restless sink into delirium, as if she had time-travelled from the mid-century of the 1900s.
The night kicks off with Clockwork, and by the first vocals, we are immersed in the solace and serenity of her voice; that warm, velvety and intimate seduction in a musical way, with modern freshness and nostalgia. It’s like a scene from the movies when entertainers were brought to entertain the troops in the wars of the last century. She slips through the romantic and melancholic softness, and as the tik tok thumps, she raises her skirt sideways on both sides, in sync. Those two words on repeat become the first spell of the night, sending the arena into delirium.
The dancers masquerade around Laufey in crisp mid-century miniskirts and pastel tops, with white plume headpieces that shimmer under the stage lights.
“It’s so good to be back touring…this is my first time in Perth!”
Laufey shifts into second gear in Lover Girl, twirling and spinning while her skirt swishes like a twirling umbrella. She is, after all, a figure skater, and that dexterous elegance is evident on stage. She becomes more animated, and by Falling Behind, she brings out the acoustic guitar.
We fell in love in Silver Lining. For most of us seated, we’re waltzing in our heads. Many in the Orchestra and Opera pits who bought their tickets for $399 or so from their piggy banks are waltzing with their friends to the enchanting vocals of Laufey. This is pure ballad at its finest, as 15,000 phone lights lit up in a hypnotic view, savoured by heavenly vocals of sultry vintage jazz.
The slow burn is soothing while she performs with her electric guitar, backed by two sets of musicians. Flanked on her left are the band section, and on her right are the four- string section of a mini orchestra: violin, viola, cello and double bass. The strings wrap around her voice rather than overpower it, thus leaving that crystalline voice intact.
The moment shifts gears as we are projected into Too Little Too Late. The build-up is intense, finally climaxing as she runs into the tunnel of the fantasy world.
And with that, Act 1 disappears into the tunnel.
“Are you ready for some jazz?” read the beaming words on the back wall of the stage.
Laufey steps out of the fairy-tale delicacy of Act 1 into a sleek butter-yellow jazz-club silhouette, with a column cut, in Act 2.
Jazz is her foundation. Positioning herself at the front of the mini runway, surrounded by musicians with double bass, keyboard and percussion, we are suddenly transported into an intimate jazz room. It is during these moments that we truly sip into the clarity of her vocals, not that it was not evident before, from Seems Like Old Times – a Carmen Lombardo cover – to Valentine and While You Were Sleeping.
The conversational delivery is infectious; those super-clean diction lines are palpable as we tap our feet, drawn into her storyline even if we are listening for the very first time. Her stage movement is salsa-jazzy, subtly shaking her hips as the skirt dances to her rhythm. She dives into a ballad on her piano, the musical-style piece Let You Break My Heart Again; the softness in her voice, the heartache oozing from her vocals, the piano piece that tingles through our hearts – all under the cover of semi-darkness, only to be illuminated by phone lights – is a masterpiece moment.
It is a tender close to Act 2.
As Act 3 commences, we sense the presence of a dark-themed musical, a vibe reminiscent of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, as shadows of carousel horses wheel in circles across the background of the stage. Laufey commences at the top of the bridge, above the tunnel archway, like a scene from a musical while singing Forget Me Not as her sister Julia plays the violin. Imageries appear in this photojournalist’s imagination, as if he’s watching a scene when Christine Daaé visits the grave of her father while singing Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. Obviously, this similarity isn’t a deliberate move, but this analogy is cast as this photojournalist attempts to describe the hypnotic moment of Laufey’s performance. Put simply, it’s a five-star performance.
Finally, we see the prodigious roots of her performance with a cello. She was, after all, a soloist at the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. The ISO is part of her identity, and it feels as if the interlude of the Cuckoo Ballet is a homecoming performance, while two ballerinas dance to the haunting spirit emanating from the weaving arms of Laufey.
Act 4 commences with a cabaret feel in Mr Eclectic, which is followed by Madwoman. What comes next are some of the most intense sets of ballads – Promise, Goddess and Tough Luck – ending at fifth-gear pace as she jumps into lyrics that evolve into a pop track with a classical touch; perhaps a time to let go. The intensity of Goddess is magical, as she sits at the piano and sings those perfect high harmonies while playing like a prodigy. Those crescendos, by virtue of the piano keystrokes, draw us to a level of hypnosis through the wonderment of Laufey.
Act 4 so far is perhaps the most technically challenging chapter of the night.
Finally comes the biggest hit of them all, the blah blah blah song – From the Start. This playful track bumps the mood into a super playful character. She prances along the stage from one side to the other in her retro showgirl glamour, crafted for stage movement. The fringe detailing adds that classic mid-century energy. We’ve never heard a crowd spewing the words blah blah blah with such joyful conviction.
As we come to a close, The Final Act ends with Sabotage before she tells the inspirational story of Castle in Hollywood and Letter to My 13-Year-Old Self.
Tonight, Laufey and her team spectacularly fuse the vintage worlds of contemporary jazz, cabaret, classical theatre and orchestral pop into one glowing reverie. It blooms through the string section on one side and the band on the other, lifting the ballerinas into a hypnotic dance, while her prodigious command of guitar, piano and cello carries those feathery vocals across RAC Arena.
Put simply, Laufey Presents – A Matter of Time is unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time. It is a cinematic masterpiece of utter eclectic brilliance.
Laufey is performing across Australia and New Zealand, with tickets available through Frontier Touring.
Sheldon Ang Media would like to thank Frontier Touring and Laufey for the Media Accreditation.
Act I
- Clockwork — Bewitched (2023)
- Lover Girl — Bewitched (2023)
- Dreamer — Bewitched (2023)
- Falling Behind — Everything I Know About Love (2022)
- Silver Lining — Bewitched (2023)
- Bored — Typical of Me EP (2021)
- Too Little, Too Late — Bewitched (2023)
Act II – Jazz Club
- Old Devil Moon — Cover (original 1947)
- Haunted — Bewitched (2023)
- Valentine — Single (2022)
- Fragile — Everything I Know About Love (2022)
- Let You Break My Heart Again — Single (2021)
Act III
- Carousel — Bewitched (2023)
- Forget‑Me‑Not — Bewitched (2023)
- Cuckoo Ballet — Bewitched (Instrumentals) (2023)
Act IV
- Mr. Eclectic — Bewitched (2023)
- Madwoman — Bewitched (2023)
- Promise — Bewitched (2023)
- Goddess — Bewitched (2023)
- Tough Luck — Bewitched (2023)
- Snow White — Bewitched (2023)
- From the Start — Single (2023)
Final Act
- Sabotage — Bewitched (2023)
Encore
- Castle in Hollywood — Everything I Know About Love (2022)
- Letter to My 13 Year Old Self — Bewitched (2023)
About Sheldon Ang Media: Sheldon Ang, photojournalist, writer and the founder of Perth-based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) has been accredited to over 250 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth), AC/DC, KISS, Metallica, Iron Maiden, RHCP and P!NK with reviews shared by the likes of Belinda Carlisle, UB40, Delta Goodrem, and Roxette. He has interviewed rockers Suzi Quatro (pictured below), the late Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 100 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Radio as a music journalist.
