After nearly a decade of being a giant fan of Bishop Briggs, I was elated to finally see her perform live last Monday night, March 17th, at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Oregon. On tour promoting her newest album, Tell My Therapist I’m Fine, released in October, Bishop brought all the flavors of her old and new discography to a perfect blend on this rainy Northwest night. With support from dark-pop artist, Ellise, who caught and captivated the entire ballroom in an instant, the whole evening was a singular success and a fond memory to stay treasured.
The venue was packed with Rose City dwellers and the vibes were extra high this evening as it was St. Patrick’s day and there was a lot of inebriation occurring. The audience was full of Bishop’s strongest fans and this was evident by looking around and eavesdropping. Right before Bishop took the stage, I overheard one front row fan exclaim to her friend, “Bishop Briggs to me is like Stevie Nicks. Like that’s how up there this is for me.”
The lights went lower and the stage welcomed two musicians on drums and guitar before Bishop came bouncing out with all her radiant energy. She opened the set strongly with a few tracks off the new album, “My Serotonin”, “I’m Not a Machine” and “Hurt Me Now”, before taking us back on a journey with her through some of our most cherished and dearly loved tracks, “Wild Horses,” “The Way I Do,” “CHAMPION,” “Dark Side,” “Hallowed Ground,” “Be Your Love” and “White Flag.” As a fan absolutely in awe of her impressive powerhouse vocals and incredibly affected by the raw emotional expression in every lyric, it’s so hard to have favorite songs in her catalogue as they all hit really hard in different but equally powerful ways. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all of these tracks are my favorite as are many others.
It was clear Portland fans in the crowd were OG fans as every single song had the audience dancing and singing along. This was one of my first show reviews outside of Los Angeles and I forgot how completely different audiences are in other places. Portland in particular is a lively and passionate bunch with unyielding expressive energy. It was the perfect match, as Bishop also inhabits this same energy on stage, running, jumping, and moving with each electric pulse of the music and the mood. Another thing so impressive about Bishop is her lung capacity. She really brings a type of athleticism to her artistry and her training really shows.
Things slowed down for an acoustic rendition of “Growing Pains,” which is a track to bring tears to anyone’s eyes just through the recording, but hearing this one live was definitely an impactful experience.
Bishop has always drawn inspiration from grief and loss and turned pain into strength through her powerful anthems and motivational songs, but after losing her sister in 2021, it’s even clearer how skilled she is at taking tragedy and making art out of it. With both delicate and tender, barely-holding-on-by-a-string vocals to large and explosive, nothing-stands-in-my-way roars, her music is nothing short of encompassing the entire emotional spectrum.
The set then moved through back-to-back new tracks including the upbeat but lamentful, “Isolated Love” which features drums by Travis Barker on the album, followed by a very fun and dazzling, “Shut It Off,” the romance-inspired “Lightning,” and one of my favorites from the new album for it’s slow build, “Undone.”
Unfortunately but also quite ironically, an overly inebriated crowd member ended up ruining everyone’s experience during the track, “Undone”, with venue security being called in to assist. Bishop handled the situation with poise and creativity, singing the situation into lyrics she made up on the spot and moving on unphased.
After “Mona Lisa On a Mattress,” she moved to another one of my favorites from the new album, “Woman is King” which has that classic Bishop Briggs opening hook and sound all over it with those bluesy vocals. After a setlist that seemed to go by way too fast, the show ended with some more of my favorites, the powerful anthem and 2022 single, “Revolution” as well as everybody’s favorite and Bishop’s most well-known and original anthem from 2017, “River”. The venue seemed to vibrate and shake from the force of everyone jumping and showing up fully for this song. The crowd sang through most of Bishop’s setlist, but they were ecstatic on this one and it was the perfect closer.
With about half the North American tour still underway, be sure to catch Bishop’s exhilarating, cathartic and absolutely mesmerizing performance if you live near the midwest or east coast. I wish there was one more Los Angeles or Southern Californian show to catch when I head home because one Bishop Briggs show is not enough. I look forward to connecting more with her soul-resonating music as she continues to create, and can’t wait to catch another performance down the road. This one will stay with me for a while.
Setlist:
My Serotonin
I’m Not a Machine
Wild Horses
Hurt Me Now
The Way I Do
Champion
Art of Survival
Dark Side
Hallowed Ground
Be Your Love
White Flag
Growing Pains (acoustic)
Isolated Love
Shut It Off
Lightning
Undone
Mona Lisa on a Mattress
Revolution
Woman Is King
River
GALLERY: Bishop Briggs at Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Oregon (March 17, 2025)
