Gracie Abrams & Ashe shine at Perth’s RAC Arena (May 2025) … The Secret of Us Tour
Summary: A shining duo
5
Brilliant
Perth tends to get snubbed when it comes to major music acts. It’s a sad truth, but there are exceptions and when that happens, Perth goes big. And when even one show is a rare treat for the city, two is an embarrassment of riches. Gracie Abrams, hot off Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, booked two shows in Perth for her The Secret of Us tour. So, not only was the entire arena sold out both nights, but girls were camped out front a whole night in advance.
At 7:30pm on a Friday night, 15,000 teen girls–along with the rare befuddled boyfriend, brother, or father– were in and around the RAC Arena with pastel bows in their hair. When I asked my sister how she knew to wear one, she shrugged and said “I think it’s on one of her albums or something”, like every teen girl in the city– or maybe the world– knew that pastel bows were the dress code, and they knew that through some sort of third mind or osmosis.
Seeing all this, you can’t imagine that the opening act could hold their own– the fact that not a single bow wasn’t pastel still stuns me– but from the endless screaming of “we love you Ashe!” coming from every angle, it’s obvious that Ashe would sell out any show just as easily.
On stage, Ashe was bubbly, giggly, and endlessly energetic. A major league performer in her element and the perfect cheerleader for Gracie’s main act– in my mind, she was cartwheeling across the stage in her silver, cowgirl-style jumpsuit, but maybe I’m misremembering that. She cartwheeled through her hits– Angry Woman, Another Man’s Jeans, Save Myself– and the crowd was starry with waving flashlights until the first piano key of Moral of the Story, which rippled through the arena as a crowd-wide scream that must have shook the skyscrapers.
You’d lose their voice by the end of Ashe’s set, but give the crowd 25 minutes to chat, take photos, and buy a drink then they were back at it the second the lights dimmed. Ashe and Gracie loved it, and both were especially gracious and grateful for the love of their fans–“It’s an honour to know you and to be here.”
You imagine it would be hard not to be endlessly appreciative to fans like these– Gracie amassed a wealth of gifts throughout the night, each unique and impressively handcrafted– from a Australian flag with hundreds of signatures, to polaroids of her 2020 bedroom shows, to a “ten-pound” book/collage/masterpiece that took months to make.
Gracie’s show itself was– of course– superb. She might be J.J. Abrams’ daughter, but it’s hard to call her a nepo baby. The crowd sang each song off her new album by heart, and there was a charming moment when all the glowing flashlights in the crowd turned to their owners to reveal islands of faces singing in the dark.
Gracie wasn’t one to be outdone though, and when the lights went down she walked through a line in the mosh to its center. There, she had “her old bedroom” made up– beside table, cheap electric keyboard, and everything– which rose up on a pedestal and was lit by a hanging halo spotlight. She accepted a couple more gifts– like a Gracie Abrams paper doll that she sat on the bed behind her– talked about her process, and weaved a few songs together.
Finally, the finale was That’s So True. She walked off stage, let the crowd cheer and clap a little bit, then walked on back for the real finale– I Love You, I’m Sorry followed by Close To You. A perfect, peppy earworm to leave the crowd with as they leave the stadium after a great night.
About the Author
Branden Zavaleta Based in Perth, Branden writes on the arts for a handful of Australian outlets. He's also a street & creative portrait photographer, who's work can be found @brandenzp on Instagram.
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