Bishop Briggs Dominates the Showbox Market

The Showbox Market filled up for one of this year’s most anticipated live shows so far.   Sarah Grace McLaughlin AKA Bishop Briggs coming back headlining her own tour is something her fans have been waiting for a while now. Briggs just released her eponymous EP a couple of days prior to Seattle and the success of “Rivers” has not declined one bit.

The night was started with Zipper Club and SHAED which were excitingly received by the audience. It seemed that most people knew the words to SHAED’s songs but the unfortunate sickness of lead Chelsea Lee cut the band’s set a little short. No one really worried about it as they still cheered them on and enjoyed what they got from Lee and brothers Spencer and Max Ernst.

It was time to get ready for Briggs and the stage cleared up leaving plenty of space for her to run around. Her three touring members were setup towards the back of the stage and there was a box shaped light with her logo in the middle that turned on when she came out. The fans screamed in enthusiasm when they saw her appear in the shadows with her signature hair buns.

Her set kicked off with “Dark Side” as she ran back and forth on stage jumping around interacting with her fans. Briggs is known for not speaking a lot at her shows as she concentrates on the actual performance and being in the moment. She did stop to thank everyone in the room a few times with her shy smile. The most impressive thing is to watch her through her verses and suddenly explode in her choruses. This girl is absolutely the most intense performer I’ve seen in a while.

You can tell her whole body shakes sometimes and her voice works as the release of all she wants to say. She is very much a loaded gun striking with her words shocking your system to wake up. All the angst, fear, anxiety, longing, and frustration of your love life come alive at her live and you feel as if she has written every lyrics about you. Perhaps that is why her tunes resonate so much with people, because they are so relatable to everyone.

Her encore included, “Wild Horses,” emotional rollercoaster “Hi Lo,” and ended with an extended version of her biggest hit, “River.” It is always so great to catch her live and there is no doubt that she is bound for greatness. Not many possess and are able to express such passion and vulnerability through their words. Bishop Briggs is the next big thing and she deserves it all.