BENEE at Reunion Park
As international borders have opened, and live music has well and truly started up again, Melbourne had a big welcome for our neighbours across the pond, BENEE and Muroki. Playing at our city’s newest venue, Reunion Park, punters from all over the state descended on the Burnley location to catch the talented young kiwis live.
Opening up the night was Kenyan-New Zealander Muroki, whose blend of R&B and reggae earned him the first record deal on BENEE’s own imprint label. Starting off with single Introducing and the catchy Surfin, Muroki got the crowd up and moving, before leading into something a little more mellow with Open Up. Written about a long-distance relationship, the single showed off Muroki’s personal lyrics and powerful storytelling. A cover of Sam Sparro’s Black and Gold was up next, which had the audience bouncing along in a singalong, and screaming along to each word. With the crowd well and truly warmed up at this point, Simple Pleasures and hit single Wavy kept the party going well until closing track Find Me. As Muroki’s latest single, the artist’s take on a dance track is incredibly catchy, and has us excited for his future work.
Given the last time we saw BENEE live was at Laneway Festival 2020, a lot has changed for the muso in the last two years. Her debut album Hey u x from late 2020 saw a slew of singles dominating the airwaves, and had the artist at the top of everyone’s ‘Ones to Watch’ lists. Hot off the release of her latest album Lychee, BENEE now has a catalogue of hits after hits, and an insane stage presence kicked into overdrive. The opening minute or so of Make You Sick started off the packed set, and quickly got everyone’s attention, before debut single Tough Guy had us all in a sway. Happen to Me, Find an Island and Soaked went absolutely off with the crowd, with BENEE telling us all between songs how excited she was to be in Australia – excitement that was mirrored back by the audience. Chilled out track Doesn’t Matter changes up the mood for a few minutes, before the bass-heavyWinter sees Mallrat run out on stage for her lines. It’s not a completely unpredictable occurrence, but still has the crowd collectively losing their minds over the moment.
Between songs, BENEE is a ball of energy; running from each side of the stage, letting her inner thoughts out and being candid with the audience. Her excitement and enthusiasm is refreshing and has everyone laughing throughout, especially when she tells us the story behind Marry Myself, before rolling into the song. Newer single Soft Side had the singer bring Muroki and crew onto stage, as well as few lucky members of the audience, where a dance party ensued. Dream pop hit Beach Boy and infectious hits Snail and Glitter kept the good times rolling, which made the build up to Never Ending all that more incredible, as the musos on stage rocked out at its climax. Before we knew it, the set was wrapping up with massive bangers Supalonely and Sheesh, which saw the artist and audience sad to see the show end. It’s plain to see that it’s only up from here for BENEE – and we’re excited to see exactly where that is.