Nemahsis Makes her Montreal Debut

The Toronto-based singer stopped by the Studio TD on her 4-date tour in support of her EP “eleven achers.”

By: Sun Noor

The Studio TD had more of an intimate vibe on Sunday night with a seated solo performance. The dimly lit room slowly began to fill up and the energy was calmer than usual but the excitement was very much still there. Nemahsis was one of the few artists on the Montréal en Lumière musical lineup that initially caught my eye, as I really enjoyed her project last year. Aside from getting to hear all of my favourite tracks live for the first time, I was ready to be taken aback by her beautiful voice.

The chatter in the audience slowly began to fade out as Nemahsis began her set with “immigrant’s tale,” accompanied by guitarist Ashton Sellars. The room was completely silent as soon as she began the first verse. Nemah carries a radiant stage presence, an energy that cannot be replicated. The audience was truly captivated by her voice.

“I had to fight to add a Montreal date since so many of you are from here and ask me to tour here,” she reassurance after mentioning a possibility she wouldn’t have played here. In addition to playing most of the tracks on her EP in full, she included a few unreleased tracks including, “I wanna be your right hand,” which is a total earworm and due for release this thursday!

The jokes and anecdotes continued in between tracks, keeping the crowd both entertained while allowing them to be filled in on her unique story. The attentive crowd definitely created more of an inviting space for Nemah to talk about idenity, share some of the meanings behind her songs and the ups and downs of trying to navigate through the industry as a visibly Muslim woman. She even revealed how her almost-10-year-old cover of of Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful,” (which is now archived) lead her to embark on this musical journey. After filling the crowd in on how the aftermath of her dad being sent said cover pushed her to release her first few tracks, Nemah went on to perform the song. She described performing this cover live as a full-circle moment.

Nemahsis is due to release a full-length sometime this year, which we’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for!

Nemahsis is due to play in Brooklyn on February 23rd and close out this tour in Los Angeles on the 25th. Tickets are available here.

Here are more photos from the show: