REVIEW: Jay Som Returns to Austin With a Renewed Spark FOR ‘BELONG’ TOUR
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY SOPHIE GRAGG ☆
Photo By Drew Doggett
JAY SOM’S LONG-AWAITED RETURN TO AUSTIN FELT LIKE A HOMECOMING - quietly powerful, deeply intentional and full of the newfound clarity that shapes her first album in six years, Belong. Playing Brushy Street Commons, Melina Duterte delivered a set that reminded the crowd exactly why her absence was felt and why her comeback feels so significant.
She opened with “Float,” easing the room into the show with its warm, slow-blooming pulse before shifting into “What You Need,” one of Belong’s most immediate and infectious tracks. Live, its crisp production and melodic brightness hit even harder, setting the tone for a night that seamlessly moved between dreamy introspection and full-on indie rock catharsis.
A highlight early on arrived with “Past Lives,” her stirring collaboration with Hayley Williams. Even without Williams physically present, the song’s emotional weight carried, its synthy haze and swelling harmonies washing over the crowd. From there, Duterte dipped back into older favorites, including “Appointments” and “Superbike,” which drew some of the loudest cheers of the night. There’s something grounding about hearing her revisit these songs now, with more distance and more life lived; they feel at once familiar and newly sharpened.
The set’s emotional peak came during “Meander/Sprouting Wings,” where the room quieted into full attention. Duterte’s voice, soft, controlled, and tender, felt almost suspended in air before breaking into the track’s sweeping, guitar-forward release.
She closed with “Tenderness” and “The Bus Song,” two classics that underscored what makes Jay Som so magnetic: understated mastery, deceptively intricate arrangements and the ability to channel vulnerability without losing her sense of playfulness.
If Belong is an album about finding your place again, her Austin show felt like solid proof that Jay Som has returned not just renewed, but more self-assured and creatively expansive than ever. And based on the energy in the room, the crowd is more than ready to follow wherever she goes next.
