Review: Courtney Barnett – Glasshouse International Centre for Music

Invited: Reviewed by Jon Isbell on October 14, 2026

It’s always a joy to attend any event at The Glasshouse, surely one of the finest music venues in the country, and tonight was no exception.

The evening’s entertainment opened with support act Body Type – an all-female rock band formed in Sydney a decade ago. Leaning perhaps a little further into the alternative than the main act they presented a strong set and, interestingly for any band, don’t have a specific front-person, with three of the four having their moment as lead vocalist and being lifted by their bandmates.

Sydney native Courtney Barnett released her debut EP in 2012, with a double EP in 2013 and a debut album in 2015. That same year she won four awards from eight nominations at the ARIA music awards in her hometown, and in 2016 was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy’s and International Female Solo Artist at the Brits. Her current tour, seen tonight, follows the release earlier this year of her four solo album, Creature of Habit.

One thing that cannot be understated is Barnett’s talent as a guitarist. Her fingerstyle playing is exceptional and compliments her rhythm work wonderfully. Speaking of rhythm, her writing is musically very effective, and there were many moments throughout the gig where the three instruments – and players – on stage (Stella Mazgawa on drums and Bones Sloane on bass) connected rhythmically which really elevated the songs and indeed the overall vibe of the show. Lyrically, Barnett seems equally at home with a more indie style of smart, meandering lyrics and a catchy chorus.

Vocally, a two-hour set is no joke for any singer and Barnett held her own for every rockin’ minute! She has a great voice which is comfortable at full-rock capacity as well as in more mellow moments – not that there are all too many of those in this set, much to the delight of her fans in the audience.

This is probably a little bit of personal preference from your reviewer but not a lot of chat between songs meant leaving not necessarily feeling I’d got to know the artist any better, or got an understanding of her musical journey and development not knowing quite where all of the songs fit into her catalogue. Barnett has evidently had a strong sense of her musical identity throughout her writing so far meaning the set could maybe benefit from a bit more structural guidance from the artist on stage to help newcomers get a feel for her direction and where they might expect her to go next. That said, it was clear from the reaction of longstanding fans in the audience that established “hits” were appreciated alongside new material.

Those in an audience who appreciate a visual element in a gig won’t be disappointed – the lighting for the show was well thought out and accented the material brilliantly. It is always nice to see a smaller scale artist do more than just “make sure they can see us on stage” and give the crowd an optical treat that compliments the performance they’ve come to see.

The tour continues around the UK, with Nottingham on October 16^th, Manchester 17^th, Bristol 19^th, and two shows in London on 20^th and 21^st.