Chicago-born Ravyn Lenae has been a cult darling of alt-R&B since the mid-2010s, an art-school dreamer whose whimsical, pop-tinged sound first drew notice when indie-slacker wunderkind Steve Lacy produced her Crush EP back in 2018. Tonight in Manchester, her kooky on-stage persona is mirrored by a surprisingly baby-faced group of misfits pressed against the barrier: a sea of trend-conscious twentysomethings in slouchy cargos and Y2K outfits desperate for a chance to brush against the singer’s hand. Supported by a guitarist, drummer and backing track, Lenae twirls on to the stage with the groove-heavy Sticky, and a lone wind machine whooshes her curls into the air.

Some songs from her 2024 album Bird’s Eye land on eager ears. The new material takes a sweet yet sharp turn from her earlier work, bouncing from the fun, rocksteady dubby speaker rattles in Candy to the tender, heart-on-chest ballad Love Is Blind. She airs her ruptured romantic frustrations in plaintive pleas: “How do you love me if you leave me behind?” But feels such as the slower, sad-girl moments on the new record, including Pilot, struggle to maintain the same momentum. Her recent melancholy undoubtedly means a great deal to her: Lenae punctuates the set with warm reflections on her own growth as an artist and offers a healthy, relatable dose of sisterly love and guidance: “Stay the course. Time is a gift.”

Mostly, OG tracks such as Free Room, doused with shuffly deep-house chords, and the glitchy drum machines of 4 Leaf Clover, still draw the biggest cheers. But then, Bird’s Eye’s hit track Love Me Not swings into the country revival with a delectable slice of western charm, and an earworm hook, “I wish you were right here”, that rings out long after the show is finished. Her word-for-word fans obviously adore her, but it still feels as though Lenae has untapped potential: maybe a heavier band – and less reliance on pre-recordings – as well as a sprinkle more pizazz would make her evident talent and ambition shine.