When I saw Courtney Barnett for the first time, it was an afterthought and an accident. In the summer of 2015, GovBall rained out and left dozens of performers without an audience (and even more fans without a performance). Somehow, I managed to sneak my way into Rough Trade in the midst of a torrential downpour to hear her perform to a few hundred of us as part of a make-up show. It was electrifying.

Now, over a decade since that breakout record Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit poured through the cracks of a thousand indie radio stations, the Australian singer-songwriter brought her wry and playful blend of snappy indie rock to Brooklyn’s King’s Theatre this past weekend. In support of her fifth record Creature of Habit, Barnett stepped out onto the cool black stage dressed in a stark, flowing white suit to a sold-out crowd. At the outset, she ripped straight into “Stay In Your Lane” from her latest record; a song that feels just as lumbering and fiery live as it does on the album. It was remarkable to see her in the context of this Jazz Age palace. The room, with its meticulously restored ornate cornices and vaulted cathedral-like ceilings, felt like a co-conspirator in the melodrama of the evening. By the time she seamlessly sauntered into “City Looks Pretty” (from Tell Me How You Really Feel) I was floored. The night unfolded with little stage banter, instead focusing on what felt like a perfect mix of an “essential Courtney Barnett Playlist” and a smattering of the strongest songs from Creature of Habit. To watch the band float through the shuffling, lighthearted “Avant Gardener” and into the emotional, powder-keg buildup of “Small Poppies” was as rewarding as it was cathartic.

Her stage presence alone could captivate even an indifferent passerby. As the spotlights illuminated the fabric of her suit, it was almost like staring into the sun while she wrestled with the guitar. The evening’s finale saw Barnett and her band burn through “Pedestrian at Best,” a rollicking and fiery ode to dashing one’s expectations before ending on a triumphant note with “Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party.” Kings Theatre is many times larger than the old Rough Trade venue in North Brooklyn, and while her audience (and discography) have grown substantially in ten years, her artistry, songwriting and stage presence have only followed in lock-step.

Courtney Barnett at Kings Theatre Brooklyn, New York May 9, 2026 photo by Conor Rooney

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