Live Review: Jessie Murph at The Forum, Melbourne

With fans lining the block outside Melbourne’s Forum, the energy was already electric, the kind that signals a future superstar is about to hit the stage. Inside, the venue was completely packed, buzzing with fans and fuelled by a Jessie Murph themed cocktail, BLUE STRIPS - a tequila, blue curaçao, passionfruit and jalapeño mix that felt just as punchy and sweet as Murph herself.

The second the lights dropped, the room erupted. A retro radio announcement echoed through the speakers before Murph burst out with her fan favourite opener Gucci Mane. The crowd didn’t miss a single word. Even with the success she’s been racking up, Murph still looked genuinely stunned by the volume and devotion coming back at her.

The staging was a glittering wall of long tinsel strands, part 60s pageant, part modern pop fever dream, catching the light and shifting with every song, creating a hypnotic backdrop of colour and sparkle. It set the tone perfectly as she launched into 1965, her raspy but velvety vocal cutting through the noise. Despite past online debates over the song’s lyrics, the Melbourne crowd clearly understood the tongue-in-cheek intent and embraced it fully.

Touch Me Like A Gangster took the energy up another notch, with a viral chorus moment that had the crowd overpowering Murph’s mic entirely. At one point, Murph paused the show to turn the house lights on and encourage fans to meet the people around them, a small and intentionally refreshing moment of connection that instantly shifted the atmosphere.

With the deluxe edition of Sex Hysteria dropping just days earlier, Melbourne became the first audience to hear Certain Kind of Love live. Then came an unplanned surprise, Murph ditched the setlist and performed Forever acoustically for the first time. Even with the song only floating around TikTok in previews, the crowd sang it like it was a number one radio hit that had been out for months, another notable moment that visibly moved her.

Older tracks weren’t forgotten either. Pray and Heroin pulled huge reactions, underlining how much of her catalogue already resonates, despite her still early career.

But the standout moment came during The Man That Came Back. Sitting on the edge of a piano, Murph told the crowd she wrote the song at 17 and never expected it to be released, let alone become the emotional backbone and missing piece tying her album Sex Hysteria together. 

Addressing her complicated relationship with her father, she spoke about how many fans have shared similar stories with her, turning the performance into a collective, cathartic moment. The tears in the room said everything.

To wrap up the night, Murph delivered the explosive revenge hit Blue Strips, turning the Forum into what felt like a pregame for a city wide late night club crawl. It was loud, it was wild, and Murph was clearly having the time of her life.

Overall, the show was electric from start to finish, the kind of night that goes too fast and leaves you wishing you could hit replay immediately. Jessie Murph’s first night in Melbourne wasn’t just good; it was the kind of show that proves she’s on the brink of something huge.