Irish singer-songwriter Nell Mescal spent November touring her sophomore EP The Closest We’ll Get, a six-track indie-folk collection released at the end of last month. I was lucky enough to hear Nell perform the record live at her Birmingham show whilst it was still freshly released – full of raw emotion and a level of musicianship you would expect from someone who had already released several albums.

I was excited to try out Mama Roux’s for a concert as a fan of independent, grassroots venues, and especially after only previously hearing about it for its raves and parties. I found its staging to be perfect for a more intimate concert but was a bit surprised by the empty spaces amongst the standing area after seeing the concert to be sold-out online earlier in the week. Nevertheless, the room did slowly fill during the soft vocals and guitar strums of openers Gracie Friel and Cece Coakley, and by the time Nell graced the stage, I was too in the moment to be distracted by the gaps around me.

Nell opened with the stunning ‘Electric Picnic’ from her first EP, a classic track to get all of the loyal fans going. It set the tone for the rest of her set, which became, as intended by Nell, an intimate exploration of the in-between of friendship and love. I thought the set list was well crafted for this, with the 13 chosen tracks being the perfect amount to allow time to talk about the personal experiences behind the lyrics. If you had somehow not already noticed from listening to her songs, it was clear when hearing Nell talk what an incredible storyteller she is, delivering several anecdotes in such a tongue-in-cheek manner that the audience could not help but laugh together and relate to the highs and lows of loving in your twenties.

Up next were two of my favourites, ‘Killing Time’ and ‘Carried Away’, which perfectly encapsulate the vibe Nell joked about – really sad songs to a cute drum beat. When hearing these tracks live, this ironic contrast felt reminiscent of other popular ‘sad girl music’ – including artists like Lizzy McAlpine – and I could particularly hear the influence of Adrianne Lenker shining through, perhaps thanks to Nell working with the same producer as her for this EP.

The whole band came together really well to produce Nell’s warm and emotionally charged sound and the choice to have three guitarists, as opposed to two, added a rich depth to the live arrangements. I particularly loved the moments when guitarist Matt Chan switched to violin during ‘Carried Away’ and ‘Lose You Altogether’, as I felt this added an additional layer of feeling to the vocals. About a third of the way through the set, Chris Rabbitts and Alex Karakurt left the stage, stripping everything back for an acoustic section. I thought this part was a highlight for showcasing some of Nell’s most vulnerable songwriting.

After the final track of the night ‘See You Again’, Nell said her goodbyes which was greeted with the loudest applause of the night. She reminded the audience there would be ‘no encore’, cheekily gesturing the quotation marks as she spoke, before the drums then kicked in for a punchy finale with ‘Homesick’.

Showing herself to be an incredibly talented artist in her own right, Nell absolutely destroyed all the ridiculous ‘nepo-sibling’ claims, leaving me excited to see what is next for her. It certainly will be something incredible, with her being one of Ireland’s most talented rising stars right now. This show concluded the UK leg of the tour, with three more dates left in Ireland, and I hope to see her return to Birmingham’s folk scene, perhaps with an album.

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