Nessa Barrett performs at Bogart's on Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: Ashlyn Shea

Friday night’s sold-out show of Nessa Barrett’s AFTERCARE World Tour at Bogart’s was nothing short of orgasmic.

Pop-rock singer Ari Abdul, in a pair of baggy jeans and a graphic baby tee that read “EAT ME,” took the stage as the electric opening act. Accompanied by a guitar player in a similar outfit, the duo rocked the stage for an hour performing Abdul’s hits like “BABYDOLL” (similarly titled to Barrett’s song) and “Taste.” It’s clear that Abdul was born to be a rockstar; her stage presence is commanding and entrancing.

Band members dressed in simple white shirts and black ties casually walked onstage as grainy, black-and-white videos of Barrett played on the background screen. Several members of the crowd quipped out loud, “Where is she?” before Barrett emerged from stage right, greeted by cheers and hollers.

Like a dark angel floating toward the microphone, Barrett wore an elegant, black, long-sleeve mini dress with matching bloomers barely visible underneath. Jumping right into the music, she opens with AFTERCARE hit “S.L.U.T” (an acronym for the words sex, lies and ugly truth), twirling her hair innocently. The crowd sings right along with her, never missing a lyric.

The 22-year-old singer has a delicate yet powerful tone in the next song, “BABYDOLL,” performed flawlessly from start to finish. “I’m your babydoll, drop me when you’re bored of me, done with me, until then, I’m your babydoll,” Barrett sings flawlessly over a pop-rock beat. She then addresses the crowd, saying, “Thank you all for coming out tonight!”

“You guys look so amazing!” she says while cradling her face. Several audience members shout praises back to her, saying, “You look beautiful!” There was one that brought laughs throughout the crowd: “My girlfriend loves you!” Barrett shyly accepts the praise and excitedly expresses that she has some “cool songs to play you all tonight.”

Barrett uses this as a transition into “DIRTY LITTLE SECRET,” adorning a white electric guitar that matches her mic stand. Not much dialogue is said in between songs, except to introduce AFTERCARE DELUXE album tracks. “I believe I dropped a deluxe last night,” Barrett casually mentions with a smile, resulting in the crowd erupting in cheers.

Songs performed from AFTERCARE DELUXE include “LOVE LOOKS PRETTY ON YOU”, “KEEP YOUR EYES ON ME BOY,” “DOES GOD CRY?” and “BLUE VALENTINE.” Although the songs had just been released hours before the show, fans sang along to every word.

It was at this point that Barrett mentioned her inner ears were having some slight trouble, causing a slight delay between songs “GIVEN ENOUGH” and “EDWARD SCISSORHANDS” where she exited the stage to fix the issue. Several fans in the crowd began uttering the same question they asked at the beginning of the performance, “Where is she?” as the keyboard player lightly played a tune.

The issue was resolved within two minutes, and, without missing a beat, Barrett got right back into the performance.

Fans wanting to take a memento from the show stopped at the merchandise stand on the way out, browsing over t-shirt options that read “bad b*tches love aftercare” with tour dates adorning the back, as well as a tank top that read “HOT GIRLS HEART NESSA BARRETT”.

Ending the night with album title track “AFTERCARE,” the track serves as a perfect end to the night with her lovingly asking the audience, “But will you stay when it ends? Promise me that you’ll be there after, aftercare.”

There’s no doubt Barrett has made a pop star of herself at just 22, with a dedicated fanbase to follow. She knows her audience — and herself — assuredly.

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This article appears in Feb 5-18, 2025.