There’s something uniquely intimate about a show at Café Colonial in Sacramento. Tucked into a small venue space that practically glows with DIY charm, the latest leg of the Friendship Bracelet Tour features: Everybody’s Worried About Owen, The Last Arizona, June Henry, and openers Brianna Carmel and The Reverent Marigold. It was a night of catharsis, comfort, and queer magic.
The crowd, a cozy mix of alt and queer folks, created a safe and welcoming energy that made even first-timers feel like they belonged. The show kicked off with Sacramento’s own Brianna Carmel, whose punk-emo-inspired set featured a mix of originals and covers, grounding the night in raw vulnerability and hometown pride.
The Reverent Marigold, a trans-nonbinary folk artist from the Southwest, followed with a stunning and surreal set. Their originals like “JUDAS” and “Ahab, or the Whale” mixed folk-punk storytelling with poetic grit, but it was their unreleased track (complete with an audience-led chant of “F-U-C-K I-C-E”) that electrified the space. Rev. Mari’s voice and presence brought a grounded power that stuck with you long after the song ended.
Then came Everybody’s Worried About Owen, a standout moment of the night. With a rotating mix of fan favorites and unreleased tracks, Owen’s set felt both intimate and electric. Hearing “Mawce” live…a song that sparked a wave of resonance and visibility among trans listeners online was surreal and affirming. Other tracks like “Hydroplaning” and “Introducing Jonah to the Whale” showcased Owen’s emo-folk style and lyrical intensity, while news of an upcoming album and a move to Oregon left the crowd buzzing. West Coast fans, take note: Owen’s not going anywhere.
The Last Arizona followed with a warm, emotionally grounding set of original songs that brought a quieter intimacy to the room. While their performance leaned more subdued than some of the other acts, it was no less impactful. Their lyrics unfolded like quiet confessions, offering a soft landing near the close of the evening. There’s a patience and sincerity in The Last Arizona’s delivery that invites you to lean in, to listen harder.
Finally, June Henry closed out the night in a way only she could. Enchanting and deeply personal. Known for her minute-long viral track “void-adjacent,” June brought a blend of freak folk, lo-fi storytelling, and unflinching emotional honesty to the stage. Her unreleased songs felt like entries from a haunted diary, delicate but fearless. There’s something magnetic about the way June navigates her limerence, longing, and circus lore.
By the end of the night, it was clear this wasn’t just a concert, it was a communion of trans and queer artists and fans alike. Every set bled with care, creativity, and the kind of truth that rarely gets stage time. The Friendship Bracelet Tour lives up to its name: it’s stitched together with love, handmade vulnerability, and the promise that none of us are alone.
Kansas City is really lucky, because we get to witness Andrew McMahon in all of his forms pretty frequently. While other musicians skip our metropolitan area more often than now, we are seemingly prioritized by his tour manager and team every single time, be it for Andrew McMahon in The Wilderness, Something Corporate, or Jack’s Mannequin.
And we show up.
Kansas City sold out the Tuesday night show at The Truman, a warehouse venue in the downtown area that has space to move — which is great, given the amount of dancing – and llama crowdsurfing – that was happening.
As we head banged through “Holiday From Real,” “Kill The Messenger,” “Amy, I,” and “Miss California,” a genuine feeling of camaraderie seemed to echo through the space. Per usual, Andrew provided anecdotes for a few songs, giving us a true look at what his life was like twenty years ago when Everything in Transit was released. It was during this time that he was battling cancer.
While some fans seemed to be learning of his earlier health woes at this show, he has been touring with his Dear Jack Foundation – which raises funding to improve the lives of young people with cancer and their families – in tow for years.** At this particular show, he was raffling off a signed drum head for donations. Toward the end of the show, he boarded a llama pool floatie and crowd surfed from the stage to the back of the venue to find out the winner of the raffle. Known for being interactive with his crowd, this was a really entertaining approach. (And we didn’t drop him!) **Not for nothing, we played his “Dear Jack” documentary at the inaugural cancer walk at my university, as suggested by my rad twin sister. His story, his strength, and the way he has allowed his life to open up since is quite inspiring and fun.
The set list for The MFEO Tour has varied slightly. The following songs were played by Jack’s Mannequin at The Truman on June 17th. Holiday From Real Spinning The Mixed Tape Release Me Kill the Messenger Crashin Miss Delaney Swim Television I’m Ready Amy, I Bruised Miss California The Resolution Rescued MFEO: Pt. 1 – Made for Each Other / Pt. 2 – You Can Breathe Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby) La La Lie
Tech N9ne was so excited to take the stage as the headliner for Saturday’s Boulevardia Festival in his native Kansas City, that he started his set 10 minutes early. We were on the other side of the festival walking over, so only got one song to grab highlights. But as we walked up to the stage, you could feel the energy oozing from the crowd. And when we approached the front, we saw that – on the day of NO KINGS – or very own hometown hero was wearing a headband that read “KING.”
It has been seven years since his last appearance at the festival, and headlining the 10th anniversary more than makes him Kansas City’s version of a king. Some fun snaps below.
Boulevardia really brought the heat – as it does every year – for its tenth anniversary, set with a backdrop of the skyline in Kansas City, Missouri. The festival grabbed local headliners for the decade anniversary of its existence on one of the hottest weekends of the year, a lineup that featured The Greeting Committee at 6:30pm as the sun started to make its way down into the trees. We caught some highlights from the performance, below.
One of the best forms of therapy can be bonding with people from all walks of life, celebrating the same, beautiful music at a concert together. Dawes happens to be comprised of brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, who happen to come from the same – or similar – walk of life, which isn’t lost on me as I glance around at the spellbound crowd around 9pm on Saturday, June 7th. The fact that they have been able to maintain such fantastic stage presence and creative prowess together for so long is a testament to their dedication to their craft, and their ability to see the good in each other. (Working with your family isn’t an easy thing to do. I honestly see it as a marker of genius in most situations.)
The brothers and their talented backing band played at the Star Pavilion at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri — a venue I hadn’t yet photographed at, but found more enchanting than cheesy.
Dawes tore into a couple of songs before coming up for air to introduce themselves. While many bands will joke about whether they are in Kansas or Missouri, Taylor joked more about not knowing their proximity to the city because of the lack of windows in the room. Small jokes here and there garnered a lot of reaction from the ultra-attentive crowd.
Dawes’ 13-track setlist included crowd favorites, and some slow burns to really cherish together. Witnessing the build of the instrumentals – and watching the way the band jams together live – was an incredibly enjoyable experience, a welcome evening break from the horrors of the world.
On May 6th, hip hop artist Open Mike Eagle opened for Future Islands at The Madrid in Kansas City. He set the fun tone for the remainder of the evening. Whitney Young captured some highlights from the set for us.
