Concert Recap: Billie Marten

Words by Alyssa Macaluso

Listening to Billie Marten is like waking up in a field of wildflowers on a sunny spring day or lounging in a porch chair, listening to the gentle summer rain patter down around you. Her sound effortlessly evokes the most calming elements of nature, and her willowy, warm vocals backed by the melodic strums of an acoustic guitar guide listeners on a journey celebrating both oneself and loved ones.

The 24-year-old British singer-songwriter’s presence may have seemed at odds with the brash sights and sounds of New York City, but if she was indeed out of her element in the concrete jungle, it was not apparent. A little after 6 p.m. on June 21, Billie breezed through the crowd of about 100 people gathered to listen to her acoustic set at Rough Trade, an independent record shop and venue space at the base of Rockefeller Tower in Manhattan. 

The anticipation that thickened in the space as Billie took the stage could have been cut through with a butter knife. Dressed in a green skirt adorned with buttery yellow lilies and a buttoned jean jacket-turned-shirt, her long blond hair loose over her shoulders, Billie captivated the room through her presence alone — there were no bells and whistles, no showy intros or flashy costumes. The most extravagant aspect of her outfit was perhaps her brown cowboy boots, but it seemed just as likely that they were a shoutout to her American audience.

The stage setup made for an even more intimate experience. The stage structure itself elevated her only slightly above the crowd, and on it was simply a mic stand, a few speakers and her acoustic guitar sharing the platform with her. When she reached the stage, she welcomed the eager crowd with a soft greeting, barely louder than a whisper, and explained that for this show, she had no setlist — the audience could shout out requests, and she would do her best to accommodate them. After fielding a few suggestions, she settled on “God Above” as her opener, followed by “Willow,” both of which are songs off of her newest album, Drop Cherries, released on April 7, 2023.

Drop Cherries marks an important milestone for the artist; not only is it the fourth album she has released since finding YouTube fame at age 12, but it is also the first album she has co-produced. The album also manifested in a creative project: an 18-minute short film titled “Drop Cherries: The Film.” The camera tracks Billie as she moves around a house, performing four songs off the album and occasionally joined by members of her band. Shot in one take, the film is an intimate performance of some of the songs that form the essence of Drop Cherries, including “Willow” and “I Can’t Get My Head Around You.” 

Billie has also described the process of writing the album as a kind of search for the sound she embodied in some of her earlier albums, a kind of childlike wonder infused into the tracks. Drop Cherries is in equal parts a testament to Billie’s ability to carry feelings through instrumentals alone and an intimate exploration of self and relationships. 

After “Willow,” Billie took a second to welcome latecomers who slipped in through the store’s front doors and bantered with audience members, asking if they were coming to her show the next day at the Bowery Ballroom. One of her fans inquired if she was willing to play off-album, and Billie acquiesced. She started with “Cartoon People” from her 2019 album Feeding Seahorses by Hand and followed it with “Vanilla Baby,” which is also from that album and is her second-most popular song, according to Spotify. Some fans joined Billie when she sang the chorus, a move that caused a smile to break out across her face as indulged her audience. 

Billie rounded out her set with “She Dances” from Feeding Seahorses by Hand and “I Can’t Get My Head Around You” from Drop Cherries, the latter of which is one of her favorite songs to perform. 

The stripped-down set at Rough Trade not only allowed audiences to connect with a cherished artist but also allowed Billie’s masterful playing and flawless vocals to really shine. Her fans’ dedication to and admiration for the artist could easily be seen in their enthusiasm to engage with her — and in the number of fans who stayed behind to ask Billie to sign their still-plastic-wrapped vinyl records. 

Drop Cherries is available on most streaming platforms, and Billie will continue touring around the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States and Canada into the winter.