Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry covers Madonna and debuts solo material at first live show

nme.com:

Chvrches’ frontwoman Lauren Mayberry has played her first ever live show as a solo artist and debuted some never-before-heard material.

Find footage of the gig and the full setlist below.The debut gig took place at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC, last night (September 4), and marked the singer’s first time playing a headline show as a solo artist.It also arrived just three days after the musician officially released her debut single – the emotional, intimate ballad ‘Are You Awake’.

Mayberry wrote the song in collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr and Zedd collaborator Matthew Koma – who also served as the song’s producer.Kicking off the live show last night, Mayberry opened with the first-ever performance of a song called ‘Bird’ – an upbeat, attitude-driven track that saw her lean over the crowd as she sang “Let’s publicise our happiness / Or at least I’ll force a smile”.From there she launched into a track called ‘Shame’, which saw her play with dynamics, and launch from a blunt, confrontational chorus into solemn, more tranquil moments.This was followed by dance-oriented anthem ‘Change Shapes’ and, later, the darker, sultry new song ‘Mantra’.

Find footage of the songs below.Other tracks getting a live debut in the breakthrough show included a track titled ‘Under The Knife’, an ’80s-inspired pop song called ‘Crocodile Tears’ and an energetic, pop-punk track ‘Sorry, Etc.’, which served as the closing song to the show.While the vast majority of tracks were never-before-heard tracks from Mayberry’s new solo catalogue, she did break out a rendition of her recently-shared debut single ‘Are You Awake’ as the penultimate track of the night – sitting behind the keyboard to do so.