Ruel, pronounced like “rule,” is an Australian artist who brings a soulful element to his predominantly pop catalog. While just 23 years old, he’s been doing music professionally for nearly a decade. In 2017, his debut single “Golden Years” premiered on Triple J, and the very next year, he won Breakthrough Artist at the ARIA Awards, making him the youngest solo artist to do so. Over the years, his talented teen charm has developed into a more grown-up persona and polished feel to his music. He is currently touring the U.S. in support of his most recent album, Kicking My Feet, which brought him to Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tennessee on February 13th.
The show started with dense fog and dim light, as bright flashes backlit a door in the center of the stage. Ruel emerged from the door and struck a few poses before grabbing the mic. The audience erupted into screams, but did not miss a word as he began to sing. He didn’t wait long to bring out the hits, with the third song being “Dazed and Confused,” his earliest success that has over 250 million streams on Spotify alone. After the first couple of songs, he addressed the audience. He let them know how happy he was to be back in Nashville, saying that he has spent a lot of time writing here and is grateful to finally get to play these songs where they were born.
His song “YOU AGAINST YOURSELF” is notorious among his fans for being one of the most energetic songs he performs live. The song lived up to this expectation, so much so that it knocked out the power for some of the stage production. Ruel quickly pivoted by making a few jokes and telling some stories while his team rushed around trying to identify the issue. When it became clear the fix would take longer than initially expected, he picked up his guitar and played a solo version of “Cats on the Ceiling.” The song has clear R&B influences in the melody, but played in this stripped-back version with only a clean electric guitar, was reminiscent of Daniel Caesar’s Freudian.
Ruel thanked the crowd before playing his “last song,” his most successful track to date “Painkiller.” Naturally, he returned for an encore. He opened the encore with a cover of Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah. He followed it with two more laid-back songs, ending the night with the record’s title track. Ruel’s Kicking My Feet tour continues through the U.S., moving to the West Coast into early April. See if it’s coming to a city near you and grab tickets here: https://www.oneruel.com/
GALLERY: Ruel at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tennessee (February 13, 2026)
