Review & setlist: Jazz-pop sensation Laufey reclaims Boston on her ‘Goddess Tour’
“I looked out at Boston from my dorm on the 14th floor on Mass Ave., and I thought, ‘I have to take back this city.’ I think it’s safe to say that I have.”

boston.com | May 8, 2024

“Boston’s where I started writing songs. The very first song I released was actually about Boston. I was so heartbroken that this boy rejected me, and it ruined the entire city for me,” said Laufey, speaking to her 3,500 audience members. “I looked out at Boston from my dorm on the 14th floor on Mass Ave., and I thought, ‘I have to take back this city.’ I think it’s safe to say that I have.”

Boston first became special to Laufey when she started her songwriting journey at Berklee College of Music. She decided to end her homecoming show with an additional encore track titled “Street by Street.” The song marks her victorious reclamation of a city once tarnished by the boy who broke her heart.

Coming off of two sold-out shows at Radio City and a Met Gala red carpet debut, Laufey graced the stage at the Wang Theatre Tuesday for an enchanting performance on her “Bewitched: The Goddess Tour.” She will return for a second show Wednesday night.

Born Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir, the 25-year-old Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter blends pop and jazz with classical influences, catering the music style to a Gen Z audience. She is a classically trained cellist and pianist and effortlessly moved between the two instruments as well as the guitar during her performance. Laufey released her sophomore record “Bewitched” last September — winning the 2024 Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal — and delved mostly into those tracks for this tour.

Laufey’s concerts are more than just that — they are a musical experience. She is the leading lady in a theatrical performance about the trials and immense joys of young love, drawing inspiration from artists like jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald.

As the music swelled, hundreds of small lights flashed against the back of the stage, creating a sea of twinkling stars. Laufey ran on in a white, puffy-sleeved top, translucent skirt with baby blue ribbons trailing along the sides, and black Mary Janes. She spun around, smiling at her fans.

“I’m so happy to be back in Boston. If you guys didn’t know I went to college here,” Laufey said, followed by screams and cheers from the audience. “Do any of you go to Berklee? Oh my God, have you done your ear training homework?”

She struck a chord on her cherry red guitar. “What chord is this? I’m just kidding.”

Laufey launched into “Valentine” with just her guitar. The song expanded to include drums, bass, keys, another guitar, and a string quartet. Her voice enveloped the audience in warmth and softness. She scatted like an angelic Disney princess, making love sound comforting and safe.

Many of her songs flowed from intimate moments of herself and her chosen instrument, to a sweeping emotional build of all of the musicians on stage playing, and then back down to just her again. During some songs I felt almost intrusive — like I was peering into a looking glass at her solo songwriting sessions. She let me into her personal stories of feeling love deeply.

“Oh, you were my everything/I was your second best,” she sang in “Second Best.” Her pain was palpable.

Along with her more sorrowful tracks, she found the dreaminess in falling head over heels. Laufey flitted and twirled across the stage, theatrically singing “Dreamer.” While she sang about her “porcelain heart,” I think it may in fact be made of something stronger. The emotional depth coupled with seemingly breezy vocals in “Promise” solidify that power and femininity can and should coexist.

In “Nocturne (Interlude),” a soft, glowing light highlighted Laufey’s silhouette as her fingers danced across the keys of a grand piano. I half expected to see Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling waltzing into the sky.

The entire performance seemed to build up to “Goddess.” “This next song is very honest, maybe my most honest song,” Laufey prefaced. “It’s about a guy, ugh. He fell in love with this version of me and then was shocked to find I was just human.”

In this moment, she reminded us that while she transforms into an ethereal being on stage, she is also just a girl. Although I was sitting far away from her in the mezzanine, I felt her heartbreak like it was my own.

“I used to walk around here, and I never ever thought I’d get to play in a venue like this, let alone sell it out twice, so thank you,” Laufey said of the Wang Theatre, nearing the end of her set. “Boston has such a special place in my heart. Being at home, I feel like I can truly say I’ve loved you ‘From The Start.’”

Laufey brought out her twin sister Junia for a violin solo, noting that Junia stole her silver flats to wear onstage.

Further reflecting on her musical journey, Laufey sang “Letter to My 13 Year Old Self.” The track is a love letter to her younger self. She explained that in writing the song, she realized all of the things she originally didn’t like about herself helped launch her to success.

Wasia Project opened the concert with all the energy of a headliner. The pop duo is composed of British siblings Olivia Hardy on vocals and William Gao, of Netflix’s popular queer love TV series “Heartstopper,” on the keys. They opened their first-ever Boston performance with upbeat “Petals on the Moon.” The pair transitioned to a more intimate moment with two spotlights shining on them for “ur so pretty” — featured in “Heartstopper.” Hardy delivered delicate vocal runs and a pure tonal quality like fellow soulful British singer Olivia Dean, and Gao floated across the keys as if they were an extension of himself.

Setlist for Laufey at Wang Theatre at the Boch Center, May 7, 2024
  • “Intro”
  • “While You Were Sleeping”
  • “Valentine”
  • “Second Best”
  • “Dreamer”
  • “Falling Behind”
  • “Beautiful Stranger”
  • “I Wish You Love” (Keely Smith cover)
  • “Promise”
  • “Like the Movies”
  • “Nocturne (Interlude)”
  • “Let You Break My Heart Again”
  • “California and Me”
  • “Goddess”
  • “Fragile”
  • “Bewitched”
  • “Bored”
  • “Lovesick”
  • “From The Start”
ENCORE
  • “Letter To My 13 Year Old Self”
  • “Street By Street”
Setlist for Wasia Project at Wang Theatre at the Boch Center, May 7, 2024
  • “Petals on the Moon”
  • “My Lover Is Sleeping”
  • “how can i pretend?”
  • “Burning Eyes R Calling”
  • “Remember When”
  • “ur so pretty”
  • “Is This What Love Is?”
  • “impossible”