Nashville got a taste of that me-espresso Wednesday night when singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter brought the “Short n’ Sweet Tour” to Bridgestone Arena.
Carpenter has dominated the music scene with her summer-defining hit “Espresso” among other singles from her 2024 album “Short n’ Sweet” -- “Please Please Please” and “Taste.”
These singles have been in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 since August, making her the first woman to chart three singles in the Top 10 for seven consecutive weeks.
Opening singer Sarah Griffiths, known musically as Griff, made her Short n’ Sweet debut at Wednesday’s show.
Griffiths released her debut album “Vertigo” in July and has toured the album in Asia and North America before joining Carpenter’s tour.
She additionally opened a night of “The Eras Tour” in London for Taylor Swift in June.
Griffiths took full command of the stage and extended runway. She visited as many corners of the audience as she could skipping through songs like “Tears for Fun” and “Miss Me Too.”
The song “Vertigo” offered her best balance of soothing yet powerful vocals and served as a great tone indicator for the rest of the set.
Griffiths gave the audience additional surprises by singing an unreleased demo and covering Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
After Griffiths’ departure, the Short n’ Sweet TV was in full control.
The show practically started before Carpenter was ready with her running across the stage in a towel.
Of course, Carpenter was prepared to reveal her sparkly red bodysuit and start singing “Taste” while dancing between moving mirrors.
Despite all of the backup singers and dancers, all eyes were on Carpenter through the first act as her vocals soared over her guitar in “Tornado Warnings” and the sultry choreography in “Bed Chem.”
The stage then transformed from a busy woman’s living room to the center of the party as Carpenter reentered in a feather boa and a black laced cat suit.
As the song “Feather” tells her to do, she had to slam the door on one of her guests and ignore another to prove no one was on her mind.
As well as Carpenter performs with others, her vulnerability struck the hardest when she was alone on stage.
The theatrics of singing “Sharpest Tool” adds extra layers of irony to the subject at hand. The use of spotlighting during “because i liked a boy” made for a very intimate experience for the audience to zero in on.
Carpenter aptly brought back liveliness through a game of Spin the Bottle that decided on a surprise song. In Tennessee fashion, Carpenter covered Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.”
Carpenter’s tours previously had a tradition of including newly written outros for the song “Nonsense” that have been replaced with an abrupt ending stating technical difficulties.
Now, Short n’ Sweet’s version of a sly gag now comes when Carpenter performs “Juno,” which calls for her to perform a new position on a rising heart-shaped platform.
She kept the country theme in Nashville by swinging an imaginary lasso in the air while in a cowgirl pose.
With over a decade of releasing music and touring, Carpenter can shine on any stage and sing a 21-song setlist without a backing track with ease.
The show had a victorious ending with Carpenter sashaying with a cup of coffee during “Espresso” which probably filled up with confetti in seconds.
The tour will continue throughout the United States for the next month, closing in Los Angeles in November.
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This story was written by Ria Skyer
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