LIVE REVIEW: SARA BAREILLES – GOOD GRIEF TOUR @ BASS CONCERT HALL, AUSTIN, TX – OCTOBER 6, 2026

Grief is an indescribable pain, one filled with sorrow and loss and emptiness, yet these words never feel like enough. It is an emotion that is near impossible to express with words. A feeling that never goes away, only lessens as time goes on. This was always how I perceived grief to be, but I have recently learned through Sara that “Good Grief” can exist. It can be filled with love and healing, too.

Sara Bareilles released her latest album, Good Grief on August 28th, 2026. The album is comprised of fourteen tracks, all of which describe the various complex emotions associated with grief, loss, and healing. 

On October 6, 2026, Sara performed at Bass Concert Hall in Austin, Texas, the eighteenth show on her Good Grief Tour.

The opening of the concert started with the lights dimming as Sara’s song “Wind Is The Weather” played, a song about heavy emotions being described as weather patterns through the use of metaphors like “lightning to shock” and “fog to obscure.” While the song played, bright lights from underneath the white drapes covering the stage lit up, revealing a cinematic showing of tree shadows passing by. 

Once the drapes were lifted, Sara walked to the center of the stage with her guitar and sang “Home.” This is a song about the importance of sharing our stories about grief as a part of healing. The following song, “Still Crying,” expresses the undeniable frustration that is felt when grief becomes an arduous battle that feels like an unending loop of anguish. 

To close her first set, Sara spoke about one of her close friends who had passed away and the grief she felt during that time. Moving to sit at her piano, Sara performed “Just a Kid,” the song she wrote as a tribute to her friend. The lights turned blue as the performance continued, conveying the sadness of the heartbreaking lyrics. 

The entirety of the concert was about the ups and downs during the journey of grief. There were many moments where the audience laughed, and there were moments where we cried, or sang, or danced. The show was able to perfectly encapsulate how grief is not a straight or easy path.

For the tour, Sara had opened a hotline for fans to call and speak about their personal experiences with grief. From the many stories Sara received, she incorporated four between her sets. These voicemails were so heartbreaking to listen to, but that only amplified the emotions flowing within the crowd. One of the voicemails was about an eighty year old man named Jim whose wife had been fighting ovarian cancer for five years before sadly passing in 2025. Jim poured his heart out, saying he’s “never known such loneliness.” 

The Good Grief tour is one I had never seen before with its intricate planning. The setlist was built to provide happiness and laughter in between the many moments of melancholy. 

Among the songs in the Good Grief album, Sara also brought back many of her older songs from her Little Voice album such as “Gravity,” “Love Song,” and “Many the Miles,” providing moments of nostalgia and healing. Throughout the show, it had felt as though the audience was being struck by grief before being provided the chance to heal. There was a sense of genuineness and reality as each phase of grief, sorrow, and healing went by.

One of the most memorable moments came after the last voicemail. This was when Sara broke the heaviness with a cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).” After numerous songs and gut-wrenching voicemails, Sara was able to lift the spirits of the entire audience by encouraging everyone to stand, dance, and sing along. There was lots of laughter and movement to allow for a few minutes of bliss followed by some of Sara’s older, more uplifting songs like “King of Anything” and “Brave.”

The encore started with a song Sara wrote for the Broadway musical, “Waitress.” The song is about the loss of one’s past self after an unexpected moment that changed everything. The audience was silent during the performance while Sara conveyed the heartfelt emotions of personal grief. This song represented how grief is not always felt for the loss of another person, but for oneself, as well. 

Sara is an artist who is one in a million. She is undeniably talented and sincere in both her music and in the moments between when she interacts with the crowd. While Sara was performing, I felt goosebumps raise along my arms as she belted out the high notes and sang with so much emotion. It was an absolute dream come true to attend one of her concerts and, if given the chance, I would highly recommend going to see her.

Sara Bareilles Photo Gallery

Setlist

• Wind Is The Weather
• Home
• Still Crying
• Just a Kid
• Voicemail
• A Love Story
• Hands Off My Body
• Armor
• Heartland
• Voicemail
• Ladies in a Line
• Capsize Me
• Many the Miles
• Nervous Breakdown
• Idiot Heart
• Gravity
• Voicemail
• Forever
• Voicemail
• I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) – Whitney Houston Cover
• Love Song
• Uncharted
• King of Anything
• Brave
• Encore:
• She Used to Be Mine
• Salt Then Sour Then Sweet
• Let the Rain

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Live photography by Kaylee Williams for No Flash Needed. © 2026 No Flash Needed. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without written permission.