The Rions: Serving Everything, Every Single Night
Currently on tour for their debut album tour, we caught The Rions in Melbourne.
The show was proof the band delivers honesty, energy, and emotional punch from the first note to the encore.
Photography: Chloe Abotomey
Words: Yanna Petter
When the background music died and the first echoes of The Rions filled the Forum, the sold-out crowd leaned in. There was a brief pause, a collective intake of breath, and then the cheers erupted. With ‘Welcome to the Conversation’, the band set the tone for the night: confident, raw, and fully present. From that moment, it was clear this album tour wasn’t just going to be a performance, it was a demonstration of The Rions at their most vulnerable and very best.
‘Shut You Out’ and ‘Anakin’ built a steady, driving rhythm, guitars sharp and drums precise. The crowd responded instinctively, moving, calling out lyrics, leaning into the performance. ‘Sadie’ slowed the pace, offering reflective intimacy. In these quieter moments, the band’s emotional depth became tangible, allowing the audience to engage not just with their musicality, but with their humanity.
Then came ‘Scumbag’. Its blunt take on emotional unavailability hit harder live, the crowd shouting back, moving in unison, fully immersed in the band’s honesty. The Rions’ raw authenticity, their refusal to soften tension or mask emotion made the track resonate as a shared human experience.
The set’s pacing allowed energy and intimacy to coexist. ‘Maybe I’m Just a Freak’ and ‘Passionfruit’ offered space for the audience to breathe and move, before ‘Take What You Want’ built anticipation for one of the night’s defining moments: ‘Cry’.
Before the song, guitarist Harley Wilson used the opportunity to acknowledge that “as four white guys on a stage” they felt a degree of responsibility to address misbehaviour in the form of toxic masculinity and its unwelcomeness at their shows (queue: a collective exhale and eruption of applause). It was candid and unflinching, with a hint of personal context that only added to the weight of the track. When Noah Blockley’s vocals entered, he somehow managed to portray the heaviness of the lyrics with equal parts vulnerability, urgency and emotional intelligence. Every note carried the tension and release of confronting societal expectations, and the audience responded in kind: swaying, singing along, leaning into the honesty. In that moment, ‘Cry’ became more than a song; it was an experience in which every audience member in the packed out Forum had their own personal experience with. A very visceral rejection of the toxic attitudes passed down under the guise of “boys will be boys". It would be accurate to say that each person present got a lesson in leaning into accountability and embracing emotional depth during that three minute affair.
‘Night Light’ and ‘Oh How Hard It Is to Be 20’ slowed the tempo again, creating intimate pockets of reflection in a high-energy room. Then ‘Ain’t It Fun’, the Paramore cover, lifted the energy with playful chaos, a reminder that vulnerability and joy can coexist onstage.
‘Lobby Calls’ rolled into crowd favourite ‘Physical Medicine’ with its 80s-inspired synths and driving rhythm that lifted the energy and had even the non dancers offering a shoulder shimmy. Beyond the fun, the song once again highlighted the band’s ability to connect musically and emotionally. ‘Scary Movies’ and the cinematic closer, ‘Adelaide’, carried the momentum to the main set’s peak. By this point, the audience was fully invested and moving in sync with the band’s energy.
The encore, ‘Minivan’ and ‘Tonight’s Entertainment’, ended the night on a celebratory, human note. Fans sang along word for word, clapped, laughed, and cheered, reluctant to leave but completely satisfied.
The Rions at the Forum didn’t just perform, they turned the album into a lived experience, inviting the audience to inhabit their music, their energy, and their vulnerabilities. Every note, lyric, and shared moment was human, messy, and vibrant. This show confirmed the band’s ability to translate ambition, emotional honesty, and raw musicality into a live experience that lingers long after the lights go up. With tracks like ‘Cry’ and ‘Tonights Entertainment’ and the unfiltered emotional range, their ARIA nomination isn’t just deserved, it’s inevitable.