PHOTOS: Self Esteem – Academy, Manchester – 29/09/2025

Indie-pop stars rarely rise as high or shine as bright as Self Esteem’s. Since Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s big break with 2021’s Prioritise Pleasure, the acclaim, admiration and overall traction haven’t even come close to stopping. Award nominations and wins have rolled in; shows have gotten noticeably bigger and more grandiose; and there’s even been a few stints at acting for both stage and screen, as if Taylor’s bow didn’t have enough strings already.

It goes without saying, then, that the Self Esteem name carries significant weight, not hurt in the slightest by this year’s similarly-lauded A Complicated Woman. Between the handmaid aesthetic that’s defined this era’s live style, and the sheer size of this UK tour culminating in a homecoming show at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena, there’s no denying the alt-pop star-power that Taylor currently wields. At her final of three sold-out Manchester shows, Ben Whitehurst went to see it in action.

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Photos by Ben Whitehurst (Instagram)