Live Review: HER, Nasty Mars

There's a hot food stand set up next to the main bar tonight selling buckets of chips, hot dogs and even hot jam donuts! We grab a Lights On-inspired drink with gin elderflower, lemon, lime and bitters then we're all good to head to the dancefloor to catch Nasty Mars. Blending together a bit of R&B, jazz, hip hop and soul to create a fresh, unique sound, this charming, multi-faceted artist brings plenty of swagger as he serves up groovy raps with refreshing lyrics. 

A sea of smartphones are held aloft ready to record the first glimpse of the enigmatic singer HER. The American singer-songwriter Gabi Wilson emerges wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses and big hoop earrings. Although her moniker is an acronym for Having Everything Revealed, she's kept her identity under wraps until recently, although tonight Wilson still prefers to keep herself quite mysterious, keeping the focus on her music as she expresses a deep and emotional honesty.

"It took me 22 hours to get here and I'm a little jet-lagged," she says before letting us know we've given her energy. HER's deeply intimate and emotional R&B music gets the crowd vibing right away as she croons, showcasing flawless, smooth vocals. Wilson recalls a time when she was in the studio working on the HER, Vol 2 EP and a guy came in with his guitar. The audience gets extremely excited, knowing exactly who she means. "That guy was Daniel Caesar," she continues. The audience screams before singing along to Best Part. One of her back-up singer/dancers lends his vocals to the parts originally sung by Caesar. Wilson then plays something totally new and unreleased, changing it up with a stripped-back acoustic number, which she performs under a spotlight.

Wilson then admits she ate kangaroo yesterday: "Is that a thing you do when you come to Australia? It was really good, but I feel a bit bad." She then invites some audience members up onto the stage for a dance before finishes big with U. Wilson gets really emotional during this heartfelt song, which she reveals is very true to her. She also seems overwhelmed to be performing on the opposite side of the planet since we sing all her song lyrics back at her. Speaking to the crowd, Wilson recommends we stay true to what we wanna do, adding, "Stick to it because anything is possible."