Photos & Words: Zane Qureshi

Loyle Carner live at Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 6 2025

Last Saturday night in Melbourne, British musician Loyle Carner lit up the iconic Sidney Myer Music Bowl as part of his 2025 Hopefully! Tour across Australia. We flew out for the weekend to document and review the show — and it ended up being the perfect way to wrap our year.

Opening the evening was American rapper and skateboarder Navy Blue, who set the tone with a heartfelt, lyrical set pulled from his rich discography. As he stepped off, the anticipation for Carner was already at a high. By the time Loyle and his incredible band walked on, the crowd — packed into the mosh, filling the seats, and spilling onto the grass — erupted. He moved through tracks from his latest album, Hopefully, including “All I Need,” “in my mind,” and the fan-favourite “Ain’t Nothing Changed.”

Full credit to the stage crew and everyone behind the scenes: the lighting design was stunning, elevating Carner’s raw, grounded performance style. For us, seeing him — and getting the chance to shoot him — was already a dream come true. He’s one of our favourite artists (even Spotify confirmed it; he was our #1 on Wrapped). But without being dramatic, experiencing him live felt almost life-changing. He speaks and raps like he’s talking directly to you, and nothing about it feels like “just another song.” It’s intimate and intentional, especially when he opens up about fatherhood, mental health, ADHD, masculinity, and everything in between.

To put it simply: Loyle Carner, Navy Blue, and the band delivered an exceptional night of music. With only one date left in Perth, we already hope he returns to Australia soon. In our books, he’s one of the best artists out there right now… though we’ll admit, we might be biased.

We were there to capture the night through photography — our full collection is below. If you haven’t yet, dive into Loyle Carner’s latest album, Hopefully! And truly, if you’ve never seen him live, we can’t recommend it enough. You won’t regret it.