During their Atlanta stop at Variety Playhouse, Canadian folk singer-songwriter Leith Ross blended exuberance with vulnerability, bringing the audience closer not only to the music but also to each other.
Be-bopping out on stage with just a laptop, a stool, and a microphone, Atlanta-native RnB singer-producer Ety began her opening set for Leith Ross’ I Can See The Future tour. With a short set consisting mostly of songs from her new album Sea legs, Ety plunged the audience into waves of 808-driven RnB and neo soul—the type that you can’t help but move to the music. With her bubbly, energetic demeanor, she had no shortage of stories for where she finds her inspiration, making her highlights like “Sun Soaked” and “Ken Burns” all the more memorable.
After a short set break, LA-based folk singer-songwriter Annika Bennett took the stage with her acoustic guitar in hand. Bennett played a few singles from her new sophomore album Triple Shooting Star, as well as some past hits. Singing about old memories, bad habits, and desert trips, Bennett never ends her songs on a tonic—she prefers to leave the emotion she carries hanging in the air. Following “A Tree Falls,” her rumination on meaning-without-witness, she transitioned flawlessly into a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” a showcase of Bennett’s deft acoustic guitar playing and subtly stirring vocals.
A few minutes after the opening acts finished, Leith Ross’ bandmates entered the stage. After giving a minute or so for the band to check their connections and tune up their instruments, Ross walked out to a chorus of cheers from the audience. They then launched straight into “Point of View,” the second track from Ross’ newest album I Can See The Future, which led into a sequence of early songs on the album’s tracklist. On stage, the band brings an intensely joyful energy and presence to the performance that perfectly matches the aura that Ross brings themself. This early run of songs culminated in “Stay,” one of Ross’ rare groove-centric songs, with which the band had no issues finding the pocket as Ross laid beautifully sung melodies over the tight bass and drum playing.
After “Stay,” Ross set their guitar down. They admitted that this tour was the first time they had ever performed without holding an instrument, and that in fact doing so completely terrified them. With a message about facing one’s fears, Ross transitioned seamlessly into the song “Terrified,” accompanied by their guitarist Soona Lee Tolley playing an Irish bouzouki, which created the chiming, rhythmic background that gives the song its drive. Following “Terrified” was another track that highlighted one of Ross’ bandmates: “What My Love Is For.” Before it started, Ross dismissively described the song as “a jazzy little love song,” but the tenderness of pianist Keiran Placatka’s playing combined with the vintage expertise of Ross’ vocal talent, “What My Love Is For” became one of the most touching moments of the entire night.
Picking up the guitar once more, Ross was left alone as the band departed. “Now, I work on request,” Ross said into the microphone. Wasting little time, the audience, seemingly at once, began to shout for the songs they wanted to hear. The first one requested was “Understood,” a deep cut from Ross’ debut EP Motherwell, recorded during their time in college. The chorus line “Old friends are precious / But once all your old friends were new” set the tone for the rest of the night, reflecting a blossoming kinship among the audience. This feeling intensified during the next song, Ross’ popular 2021 single “I’d Have to Think About It,” as the audience began to audibly sing along for the first time of the night. Although Ross had sheepishly admitted beforehand that the song was about an immature overreaction to heartbreak, the song’s themes resonated strongly with the young crowd, who joined at the climax to sing the titular line “Well, I’d have to think about it” in unison—accompanied by a giggle from Ross.
“We will all be present,” Ross announces before the next song. While it’s a simple statement, it well encapsulates the sentiment that Ross brings to their performance: a mindfulness of being, and of the opportunity that music provides us to share time together. The importance of mindfulness is an especially strong theme in the song that followed: “Grieving,” a part-acoustic-part-folk-rock centerpiece dedicated to Ross’ grandfather. After “Grieving,” Ross took a moment on stage to promote Southerners on New Ground (SONG), a local organization dedicated to advancing Southern LGBTQ people of color, rural people, immigrant people and working class people in their communities. Ross announced that a portion of the proceeds from merchandise sales at the show would go to SONG and excitedly advocated for the audience to be present in their communities by supporting similar organizations.
Then, Ross launched into their final run of songs for the show: a glimmering, spectacular version of “(I Can See) The Future,” the title track from their newest album, followed by an equally glamorous “(You) On My Arm,” from 2023’s To Learn. These songs, as Ross’ final commitment to love, were performed with the bursting energy of a popstar hit while Ross’ remarkably earworm-y vocal melodies provided a lilting, lyrically dense cap on a truly delightful musical climax. Of course, a climax begs a resolution, and to a show focused on presence, love, and connection, there is not an ending more fitting than Ross’ biggest song “We’ll Never Have Sex.” Ross performed a downtempo, meditative version of the tune accompanied by only their acoustic guitar, and when it was over they smiled to a voracious round of applause. After a profuse thanking of their bandmates and the crew of Variety Playhouse, Ross said goodbye to the audience and left the stage—leaving us with the memories, the music, and the contemplative, joyful presence they had fostered.
Leith Ross’ sophomore album, I Can See The Future, is available on all streaming platforms. You can follow Leith Ross on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube and Facebook.