Photo + Words: Emma Last
On Sunday night, Sheffield-born singer Self Esteem (Rebecca Lucy Taylor) brought an unforgettable night of community, empowerment, and resistance to Manchester Academy, delivering an experience that felt less like a pop concert and more like a declaration: raw, theatrical, and emotionally uncontainable.
Support came from Tom Rasmussen, who also supported Self Esteem back in 2023. Drawing from their 2024 album Live Wire, standouts included ‘There’s A Lot To Be Happy About’ and the ethereally beautiful ‘I See Potential As A Beautiful Thing’. Their set, a magical exploration of joy, relationships, and trans liberation, peaked with crowd-favourite ‘Look At Me’, which Rasmussen described as their favourite time playing this track. Ending with powerful hit Dysphoria, Tom’s set left the crowd with a soothing sense of unity, their vital lyrics and soaring falsetto vocals lingering in the air.
Self Esteem’s set began with the striking beats of opener ‘I Do And I Don’t Care’ layered with enticingly rich vocals from Taylor’s troupe. Emerging into a lone spotlight, Taylor launched into the spoken-word track, the opener of her latest album A Complicated Woman released this April. Oozing with witty lyricism and poignant introspection, the song climaxed in a chanted chorus of “If I’m so empowered / why am I such a coward / If I’m so strong / why am I broken?”, words which visibly struck a chord with her crowd.
From there, the night unfolded with theatrical precision. The ritualistic red-glow of ‘Mother’ melted into the punch of ‘Lies’. Ending with a crescendo of moans, the set seamlessly transitioned into crowd-pleaser ‘69’. “For the next sixty-nine minutes, your arse is mine”, Taylor declared, before diving into a vivacious dance break.
Vocally, the night was a triumph. Reflective track “Logic, Bitch” showcased the depth of her range, with its tender piano-led pace allowing Rebecca’s intuitive, dynamic delivery to take centre-stage. From its powerhouse vocals to its captivatingly slick choreography, her 2021 album’s title track ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ was another true standout. The track’s gritty and pulsing body built to a moving ending that held the audience in a soft harmonised mantra “I thought that you’d be kind to me”.
‘Fucking Wizardry’ summoned a cathartic, gospel-like surge from the crowd while ‘The Curse’ played by Taylor on guitar, grew into a stadium-sized anthem about destructive coping mechanisms. The track felt particularly era-defining, its roaring ending enriched by masterfully sublime vocal flourishes from two of her performers Marged Siôn and Sophie Maria Wojna.
Hooked by Taylor’s unabashed stage presence, the audience fell into complete silence upon the first notes of ‘What Now’. The unplugged a capella rendition saw Rebecca and her vocalists huddled around a single light, filling the room with a sense of warm awe as they weaved intricate harmonies, crafting a moment that was nothing short of a masterpiece.
Later, ‘In Plain Sight’ and ‘The 345’ offered moments of intimacy and resilience, holding the audience in what felt like a collective embrace to spread much-needed messages of persistence, community, and equality.
Energy surged again for ‘Cheers To Me’ and ‘If Not Now, It’s Soon’, featuring a surprise appearance from Julie Hesmondhalgh, who lends her voice to the recorded version. Perhaps Self Esteem’s best song yet, ‘The Deep Blue Okay’ was the highlight of the night. Its orchestral lashings and uplifting lyrics left the audience chanting for more.
The encore began with her breakout spoken-word anthem ‘I Do This All The Time’. What began as a quiet, reflective moment, swelled into a communal chant, with the crowd echoing every line back at her, a testament to how deeply her lyrics have resonated. Closing with the more recent hit single ‘Focus Is Power’, she left the audience exhilarated and fulfilled. A defiant anthem of resilience, its pounding beats and commanding delivery pushed the night to its ecstatic peak.
As at every Self Esteem show, the night wasn’t over when Rebecca left the stage. The audience transformed the venue into a dancefloor, strangers folding each other into open-armed celebration.
It’s rare to witness an artist perform with such theatrical ambition, razor-sharp wit, and sheer power. After Sunday night, it’s hard to believe anybody else is doing it quite like Rebecca Lucy Taylor right now.
Taped Magazine 