1 hour ago
3
Concert
Laufey
RAC Arena, July 26, 2026
★★★★★
Jazz music is having a revival and has brought with it a new young generation of followers.
Thousands of Gen Z fans packed into RAC Arena on Saturday night to see Icelandic singer Laufey perform her A Matter of Time tour – and she did not disappoint.
Laufey (pronounced loy-vay) kicked off the Australian and New Zealand leg of her tour in Perth, telling the sold-out crowd she wanted to make the journey to the west coast because she knew what it felt like to live in a place artists rarely visited.
“Don’t worry, you guys. I’m from the middle of nowhere. I hope you understand,” she said with a laugh.
“So I always feel like I need to go to the places that are far away because I can remember every single artist who came to Iceland growing up, and it was like the most random assortment of artists and I just always felt so seen.
“So I just want to thank you so much for inviting me to your country and to your city … you sold this place out, this is crazy there are so many of you here. I really can’t believe my life lately.”
The classically trained musician began the show with a selection of her best known hits like Lover Girl, Falling Behind and Too Little Too Late with a live ensemble and four dancers by her side.
The castle backdrop, lighting and projections all added to Laufey’s whimsical energy, creating an ambience that felt like something from an old Disney movie.
As an audience member – who is somewhere between a millennial and Gen Z – it was surprising to see how many young people resonated with her older style of music.
The show was split into four acts and an encore, and had one act dedicated entirely to jazz.
Opting to re-invent a handful of songs as jazz pieces, Laufey performed with a stripped back band in a bid to “nerd out” and make the room feel intimate.
“With this tour, I really want to find a way to make these very big rooms feel cosy, and I also wanted the opportunity to just nerd out and take some of my older songs and put them in new costumes, rearrange them,” she said.
“So if you’re trying to keep up, and you feel like the beat’s a little funky, it’s a little funky on purpose.”
Whether it was because the 28-year-old comes across as a youthful ray of sunshine, or because her music genuinely speaks to people in a way that modern music seems to be lacking, one thing was certain – the younger generation loved it.
Two outfit changes later and the performer closed her show with a song called Letter to My 13 Year Old Self.
The song was a reminder to never let anyone stop you from becoming who you want to be.
In the words overheard by two teens at the end of the song: “I really needed to hear that today.”
Pop music isn’t going anywhere, but Laufey is a great reminder that individuality has the power to resonate with people and sell out arenas too.
