toronto, canada - september 22, 2024

Fresh off the European opening spot for the iconic Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Griff (known digitally as wiffygriffy), embarked on her 2024 Vertigo tour. Canada has been begging for the English-born singer to debut in the northern country and after the whiplash of COVID shutdowns in 2020, Griff finally made the trip. Even to those who never knew the artist before her recent debut album release, Griff gave the crowd a warm and enthusiastic reminder to acknowledge her desperation to make it here: "Can you believe this is my first time in Canada?!”

The magic that is Griff’s Vertigo album translates immaculately to the stage, with a glowing spiral above the singer’s head and an instrumentally dictated light show the set was eye-catching from the get-go. With a swift run and wave, Griff jumped into the show with the title track “Vertigo”.

It’s not uncommon for an artist to engage in fan interaction, Griff takes it to a new level, joining the audience for not one, but three songs. Placed smack dab in the center of the crowd surrounded with glowing lights and smiling faces, the singer-songwriter took a few requests (via her text line) for the acoustic b-stage set; including “Hole In My Pocket.”

With a Sigrid cover a few songs deep into the set, Griff reminds us her vocoder-pop is a nod to pop artists before, but with a complete uniqueness in her way. While many of Griff’s tracks lie lyrically in sadness and heartbreak, with songs like “Pillow In My Arms” she proves instrumental elements can help a listener dance their pain away:

“Ooh, then I dance / With a pillow in my arms

Oh, as if it has a heartbeat / Oh, as if it was your body, yeah”

While Griff stands physically at 5 foot 3, her presence booms from the stage, straight through the door. Nothing is sharply aggressive about her set, from her costuming to her movements to her sonic experience, Griff excels with roundedness and softening an environment while still holding power in her own right. While some artists shy away from crowds toward the beginning of their career, Griff is easily an exception. A sold-out show in Toronto at The Danforth Music Hall is proof enough that her career is bound to skyrocket.