Courtney Barnett brought the cowbell and vibes to Late Night With Seth Meyers on Monday night (September 19) for a moody performance of “Turning Green.” The free-spirited love song is from Barnett’s latest album, Things Take Time, Take Time, from last November. The acclaimed Australian indie-rocker recently appeared on late-night TV with this July performance of “Before You Gotta Go” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and she previously stopped by Seth Meyers in late 2018.
This time, Barnett held her own on a night where Meyers also welcomed Quinta Brunson and John Oliver. “Turning Green” is a dichotomous example of Barnett’s versatility — an optimistic story of transformation underscored by a transfixing drum machine beat. “The trees are turning green,” she sang slowly in the second verse. “In this springtime, lethargy / Is kind of forcing you to see / Flowers in the weeds.” After delivering the third verse, Barnett launched into a two-minute guitar solo that made it easy to forget she’s on Late Night and not headlining a concret.
Earlier this month, Barnett wrapped her ambitious Here And There touring festival that featured a revolving lineup including Japanese Breakfast, Lucy Dacus, and even Fred Armisen. The innovative tour produced a limited-run Here And There: B-Sides, Live Tracks + Demos compilation project to benefit Advocates For Youth and the National Network Of Abortion Funds. She will head to Germany on October 28 to kickstart a run of European dates, which can be seen here.
Watch Barnett’s performance of “Turning Green” above.