Tei Shi

Yes - Manchester - 19 Feb 2026

Story by Hannah Alcock

20/02/2026

This was essentially a one-woman show in a packed, hot and steamy room full of adoring fans. From deep within the dry ice and dim lighting, Tei Shi slowly emerged with ballet-like, sensual movements.

It’s been nine years since Valerie Teicher Barbosa, aka Tei Shi, last toured in the UK. Judging by the audience demographic, I’m guessing many were too young to have seen her perform the last time she was here.

There were plenty of whoops and affectionate shout-outs from the crowd, telling her that we loved her and how pretty she was. The sentiment, it seemed, was mutual.

“You’re all really gorgeous and cool”, she told us later on. I’ll take that - thank you!

She played songs spanning her decade-long catalogue, keeping us waiting until the encore for her biggest hit, Basically.

The Basement stage at Yes is pretty small and, performing without a band, you might expect it to feel a little empty. Tei Shi filled it completely. A backdrop imitating a theatre spotlight and coloured neon lighting set the mood for each song, complemented by heavy use of smoke.

She’s an incredibly expressive dancer - full of high energy and big movements, always totally in the moment, and a joy to watch. She periodically emerged from the mist at the front of the stage to heighten the atmosphere.

As the show went on, the energy only increased. “Let’s dance, Manchester,” she urged before launching into OK Crazy.

She balanced the high-energy tracks with slower moments, weaving her Spanish-language songs seamlessly alongside the English ones. The Colombian-Canadian singer performed for around an hour and twenty minutes, delivering about 20 songs, including two for the encore.

She opened this European tour in London the previous night and heads to Dublin next before continuing around the rest of Europe over the coming weeks.