Laufey’s Goddess Tour Leaves Boston Bewitched

Opulent and elaborate, with Baroque-era sculptures nestled in crevices around the stage, the Boch Center’s Wang Theater is a venue befitting a goddess — and perhaps, even, a Goddess Tour. On her visit to Boston on May 7 and May 8, Laufey played two sold-out shows beneath the ornate arches, putting on a gorgeous performance fit for the opulent venue.

Known for her jazz-infused take on pop music, Laufey shot to fame with her 2021 EP, “Typical of Me,” and has been credited for bringing jazz, an often overlooked genre of music, into contemporary pop. Amidst a backdrop of twinkling lights, she opened her concert with “While You Were Sleeping” from her most recent album, “Bewitched.”

Laufey’s yearning lyrics and buttery vocals set the tone for the rest of the show, which had a more refined and ethereal feel than traditional pop acts — in large part due to the elegant venue and the spell that Laufey seems to cast on her audience.

Wasia Project, the British sibling duo composed of Olivia Hardy and Will Gao, opened the show with an energetic performance, singing a repertoire of songs that included “ur so pretty” and “Petals on the Moon.” The band proved a fitting and wonderful opening act with their piano-heavy and dream-pop sound, priming the audience for a night of fantastic music and polished artistry.

The atmosphere felt more akin to an orchestral symphony or a ballet performance, a testament to Laufey’s dream to bridge the worlds of pop and orchestral music. In lieu of a live orchestra, which Laufey often plays with, the band on “The Goddess Tour” instead included a string quartet, further compounding the classical feel of the show. In particular, “Nocturne (Interlude)” from “Bewitched” was majestic — hearing Laufey play it live, accompanied by the soaring music and instrumentals from each song from the album, elevated the track.

Despite the stately setting, Laufey found time to showcase her deadpan humor: “I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve never been able to let go of anything ever in my life,” said Laufey before starting “Promise,” a song about her unsuccessful attempt to distance herself from an ex-lover.

Though Laufey primarily shifted from instrument to instrument — playing the piano, guitar, and cello with equal skill — there were some songs where, sans an instrument, her choreography injected levity and vivacity into the ethereal performance. Laufey danced about the stage in “Dreamer,” for instance, punctuating each declaration with dramatic hand movements.

But the most striking moment easily came when Laufey sat down at her piano to perform “Goddess,” the final track in the deluxe edition of “Bewitched” and the namesake of “The Goddess Tour.” Sitting at the piano and encircled by her band members, Laufey described “Goddess” as her most honest song — this sentiment immediately became clear as she launched into an impassioned, heart-shattering chronicle of her relationship with a man who was more infatuated with her on-stage persona than her true self. As she sang “You must have felt so damn deceived / When you made up a version of me that you thought you’d love / But I am not your Aphrodite,” Laufey’s rage was palpable, creating a cathartic and spellbinding energy.

A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Laufey also emphasized her connection to Boston, particularly as many songs in “Typical of Me” were written in her Berklee dorm room. In a break between songs, she jokingly conducted a “pop quiz” for any Berklee students who were at the concert, asking them music theory-related questions that drew laughs from the crowd.

“I wasn’t cool enough to quit Berklee — I got scared,” she said, referencing the numerous Berklee dropouts that became pop stars.

The final song of her main set was “From the Start,” one of Laufey’s more upbeat songs that proved a fun closing act. Laufey brought out her twin sister, Junia, who played the violin as Laufey danced around, teasing Junia for stealing her shoes. Her joy was infectious and the audience began singing along in a hushed voice, creating a buoyant, reverent atmosphere.

Emerging for an encore, Laufey played “Letter to My 13-Year-Old Self,” sharing how her younger self never quite felt that she belonged when growing up half-Chinese in Iceland.

Laufey finally closed out her encore with “Street By Street,” a song that she wrote in and about Boston as she recovered from heartbreak. “Street by street / Breath by breath / from the Back Bay to the sky,” she sang. “I’m taking back my city, I’m taking back my life.”

In that moment, as she sang these words to an enraptured audience in a gilded Boch Centre Wang Theatre, it was impossible to refute her declaration.

—Staff writer Angelina X. Ng can be reached at angelina.ng@thecrimson.com.