NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
The last time we saw Katie Gavin, she was blowing the roof off at History with her band MUNA. That persona was a bundle of non-stop energy bounding around the stage. On her first solo album “What a Relief”, released on October 25th, Gavin goes full singer/songwriter, putting out an album of mostly folk songs with a twinge of Americana thrown in. Written over a period of seven years, it is very personal and puts on display Gavin’s effortless ability to translate feelings into lyrics. Her first solo tour was set to be an intimate one, even though she could have easily sold out larger venues. On Monday, December 16th, she made a stop at the Opera House in Toronto for the penultimate show of her What a Relief Tour. Fans gathered early outside, even as the rain started to fall. Soggy fans were appreciative when the venue opened doors a bit early so they could come in out of the weather. This gave everyone some time to dry off before the music started.
Opening the show was Nana Adjoa, a singer/songwriter from Amsterdam who also happens to provide guitar and keyboard accompaniment for Gavin. Adjoa is one of those artists that quietly requires your silence as she performs. The two things that struck me the most were her incredible whistling and mournful vocals. It’s always great to catch amazing opening acts!
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When Katie Gavin took the stage, the first thing she did was pour tea for herself and Adjoa. It was about to be one of those “we’re all sitting in her living room” kind of show. She opened with “Today” and “Sparrow”, what she called the two most depressing songs on the record. Looking around the room, I don’t think anyone was upset about that.
For “As Good As It Gets”, she was joined by local singer/songwriter Charlotte Cornfield, who performed Mitski’s vocal parts. On other tour stops, Adjoa had sung the second part so when Gavin announced there was a special guest who would be performing the duet, many fans became very excited, thinking that perhaps Mitski would take the stage. It was not to be but Cornfield was great, singing with aplomb.
On each song, Katie Gavin showed her versatility playing everything from an acoustic guitar to keyboards, to a violin, to a shruti box! Yes, a shruti box. I also said “what the hell is that?” She told the audience that she can play a little of everything but is not a master of anything. I think her fans would disagree.
Gavin did perform every song from her solo album and also added a couple, including another duet with Charlotte Cornfield, this time performing one of Cornfield’s songs “In My Corner”. Gavin mentioned that her uncle was at the show and he was so tall that sometimes she can only see him towering over everyone in the crowd. He had wanted her to cover Madonna’s “Vogue” but she went with an acoustic version of “Like a Prayer”, which was fabulous! On my favorite track on the album “Sketches”, Gavin spoke of how she wasn’t very good at finger picking. Once again, we disagree. She didn’t stop for an encore and played straight through, ending her set with “Aftertaste”, probably the one track from her album that sounds like it’s a MUNA song.
As the crowd slowly filed out of the Opera House, many stopped by the sparse merch table. I was surprise that more vinyl wasn’t available but the few signed copies of “What a Relief” had sold quickly, even at $75 each!! Same with the sweatshirt at $100!! Fans were eager to get any piece of Katie Gavin that they could before they went back out into the rainy night. There is one more show on Gavin’s tour to close out the year, at Thalia Hall in Chicago, Catch her if you’re within driving distance!
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