Notes from a pedal steel ring throughout the packed Sinclair, a staple instrument of Faye Webster’s discography. She opens the show with “Better Distractions,” the first track off of her June 2021 release 

. The album title perfectly characterizes Webster’s witty and easygoing personality, and sets the tone for a fun and lighthearted set.

 shows the evolution of Webster’s sound and lyricism from her previous projects. Her 2017 self-titled release and 2019 project 

 both fall into the indie genre, with heavy influences of folk and country, setting the foundation for Webster’s distinct sound. She talks a lot about loss, loneliness, and boredom on these albums, which she acknowledges the pain of in her song “Hurts Me Too.” 

 adds a more dreamy rock vibe to Webster’s discography, with lyrics talking about reciprocated love and innocent fantasies, showing growth from her previous releases.

Webster keeps the show moving and the crowd swaying with her songs “Right Side of My Neck,” “Kind Of,” and “In a Good Way,” singing about the kind of love that feels like the movies. She switches to a more upbeat and hard-hitting tempo with “She Won’t Go Away,” the first track off of her self-titled album. Then, getting the crowd to dance like they haven’t had the chance to do all night, she keeps the energy high with “Cheers,” one of her most rock-influenced songs.

Adding to the playful nature of the show, Webster goes on to talk about her love for the Nintendo Switch game “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.” Her comments make the audience roar with laughter and excitement as she mentions that her favorite villager is Octavian. Webster then lightly touches on how one of the songs from Animal Crossing made her realize she needed to go to therapy, and that she wanted to share this song because of its significance to her. She moves into a cover of the song “7 PM” from the game, an unexpected yet incredibly welcome addition to the set that seems to fit perfectly in a Faye Webster show.

The set continues with dreamy songs like “Overslept” and “A Dream With a Baseball Player,” keeping the crowd swaying. In between songs, Webster talks about things like going to the beach and playing spikeball. Her band members chime in with friendly banter, joking about who’s the better spikeball player or how their pedal steel player reserved to stay in a hot tub for most of their time off between shows, showing the palpable bond that these musicians share.

After “A Dream With a Baseball Player,” Webster’s band quietly exits the stage, leaving the singer alone with her guitar and a microphone. She shares an incredibly heart-wrenching rendition of “Half of Me,” the last track off of her latest release. The crowd watches intently, absorbing every note from her voice and every strum from her guitar, only to erupt in tremendous applause once the song is done. Webster graciously thanks the audience and leaves the stage, but the cheers from the crowd do not stop. After about three minutes of continuous noise, Webster and the band reenter the stage to play “Kingston,” the last song of the night.

Contrasting from her deep-cutting lyrics and emotional melodies, Faye Webster proved with her show that she doesn’t take herself too seriously. She brought a night of laughs and good spirits to The Sinclair, giving the audience a special glimpse into her laid back personality. The set brought a perfect balance of both her old and new tracks and was a great complement to her most recent project.


Nellie Clark