Photo Gallery: Nessa Barrett at Thalia Hall • Chicago
Nessa Barrett
Thalia Hall
April 7, 2026
Chicago, IL
Recap and photos by Curt Baran
On her Tuesday return to Chicago, Nessa Barrett chose to host a black-tie affair. As guests assembled for her performance at Thalia Hall, the Pilsen venue greeted arrivals with an air of sophistication.
Gentlemen clad in black tuxedos and white gloves dispensed scrolls of paper from silver serving trays. As a string quartet played modern hits in the background (“Pink Pony Club” earning the set’s biggest applause), black strings, complemented by a tiny, silver bat medallion, were unknotted to reveal the poem hidden within. A majority of the audience obviously received the memo, arriving in their finest adornments of silk and lace.
Barrett has embarked on a brief, multi-city tour in support of her recent EP Jesus Loves A Primadonna. It’s eight songs that amount to less than half an hour of music, but more than make up for the volume of sheer drama they dispense.
Escorted on the stage bookended by the two aforementioned dapper gents, Barrett delivered dramatic readings of the new material while bathed in elegant white light and a sparsely adorned stage.
Back in 2020, she courted attention on TikTok, uploading performances of cover songs, leading to a record deal. Well, what a difference half a decade can make. She commanded her surroundings effortlessly, each minor movement was met with overwhelming approval from a rapt audience. Her booming voice sumptuously delivered what amounted to an amalgamation of goth-pop and alt-rock that would certainly be met with approval by Poe himself.
Although the brevity of the performance could be construed as disappointing (it clocked in at around an hour), what was clear is that the evening was an absolute undersell. Those in attendance must have certainly suspected that she might never play a room this small again, and it only added to the gravitas that felt like living, breathing noir.
Category: Featured, IE Photo Gallery, Stage Buzz
