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.
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.
While every other artist on the planet is pulling back on the reigns and really trying to curate a specific image or brand, there are some artists that have owned their creative space for quite some time. People who are so naturally good at what they do and well-versed in who they are that sometimes their artistry is taken for granted. People who have never missed a note or a step on stage, developed an array of great relationships early in their careers and created collaborative opportunities for themselves and their colleagues.
One such performer? The jaw-dropping, intrinsically talented but somehow still infinitely humble Mýa.
I had the unique pleasure of seeing her in concert on February 15th in Kansas City at the R&B Remix Tour at T-Mobile Center. Troop and Hi-Five opened the show, that then welcomed Mýa on stage before rolling into classics and fan favorites from Ginuwine and Jagged Edge.
Mýa took the stage in a red bustier, gorgeous red suede heeled boots that came up above her knees, and coordinating collage-themed hot pants, jacket, and doo-rag. A touch of street style mixed with some classic dance garb allowed her to put her power on full display – both vocally and dance-wise. As someone who was classically trained in dance from childhood, she truly knows how to pull out all the stops when on stage. (I mean, have you SEEN her tap?)
Mya’s set was short and sweet, clocking in at under a half hour. But she left no room for curiosity or contempt while rolling through hits like “Case of the Ex,” “Ghetto Superstar (That Is What You Are)”, “Fallen,” and “My Love Is Like…Wo.” The entire arena was standing when “Lady Marmalade” hit the speakers, and the performer dazzled us with her insane vocal range.
She closed the set teasing us a little bit with the opening music from The Rugrats Movie, “Take Me There.” For those who are not millennials who lived and died by this orange VHS – or pop music on the radio at the time – this song was integral to the 90s in ways I cannot fully explain. And ever since, it has held my childhood like a bit of a time capsule. Rounding out her set with the instrumentals from this song was the right thing to do, as she reminded the crowd who she was and where they could find her.
After her performance, myself and my cohort had the unique ability of going backstage to see Mýa for a few moments. I have to say, Ginuwine performing Prince’s “Purple Rain” as we walked up to speak with her felt like a wild moment — the convergence of three musical greats in one space. And she couldn’t have been a more gracious and wonderful human.
I spoke with the guest services representative who was manning the elevator shortly after my interaction with the R&B great, and she asked me if she could see a photo. I showed her, and she exclaimed, “WOW! She’s just as beautiful as ever! The woman never ages! And her style!”
And she’s right.
When I exclaimed I was ready for a complete Mýa renaissance that evening, I wasn’t kidding. Luckily for us, it looks like she may be gearing up for new music here shortly. Keep up with her here.
Last night, the Philadelphia Eagles won The Big Game.
While there was so much about the game that gave me goosebumps, electrified, and, honestly, inspired, the most exciting part for me – and for many – was the halftime show. For fear of being too petty (re: my issues with the Chiefs organization being too financially and outwardly supportive of the color orange, their players and families openly supporting the current regime, Butker, Swift, etc.), I’m going to spare you most of my thoughts.
But not about the halftime show. I’ll spare you nothing there.
The halftime show was remarkable from the first lines out of Samuel L. Jackson’s mouth – aka the only Uncle Sam I’ll ever listen to – all the way through the impactful GAME OVER finale. If you were allowed to watch and listen closely in your party environment, you probably noticed a bit more.
To begin, there wasn’t a single white performer on that field and I was living for it. It’s Black History Month, and our joke of a government is trying to erase that. This was a massive, immediate message to many people – one, in particular, who was actually there in person instead of doing their jobs correctly to protect our country from a coup.
The stage performance was just over 13 minutes of spectacular set design and art, beginning with video game audio and squares lit up like tic-tac-toe. (I have seen references to Squid Games, a show I will not watch. I’m sorry.) Samuel L. Jackson is lit up in the middle square to introduce Kendrick, who starts on top of a 1987 GNX wearing red, white, and blue, decidedly. The car is the namesake of his surprise sixth studio album, which was released last November. He’s also kneeling, with a single spotlight on him, completely alone. This, alone, was a statement to the orange one in who led people in tearing down those who protested during NFL games not so many years ago. The short song Lamar begins with appeared on teasers for the album and there are lines from it that immediately pulled at fans when the album came out, but isn’t an official track on any current releases.
In the first big choreographed moment, the lights strobe, a good amount of dancers in red square up and sync up, and Kendrick says, loudly, “The revolution’s about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy.” This line is a direct reference to a satirical poem released in 1970 by Gil Scott-Heron, which reads, “The revolution will not be televised.” This piece is a response to the spoken-word art “When the Revolution Comes” by The Last Poets, and mentions famous figures and cultural linchpins that serve as a smokescreen for the actual revolutionaries.
Kendrick reciting these words with the American colors around him, was an obvious poke at several people in attendance. It was also the first time I screamed out of excitement.
He pivots fast into “Squabble Up,” dancers in red, white, and blue sweatsuits surrounding him in various formations. After lining up, they start to step and it is a powerful moment of rhythm and control. Which is when Samuel L. Jackson steps back in and says, “No, no, no, no, no! Too loud! Too reckless! Too ghetto! Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!”
And that beautiful man is a smokescreen for the watching audience. Because as he is screaming the same shit conservative media uses against people of color to delegitimize their art and their lives, the dancers are forming an American flag on the steps. And now the camera is back on Kendrick, in the center of that flag.
And so begins “Humble.” The crowd is roaring at this point, while these incredible male athletes/dancers engage in sharp movements that would be hailed as 11/10 at a cheerleading competition. Their precision was admirable, poetry in motion. This is when I started noticing some dancers had their faces covered, some had their heads wrapped.** Some you could see fully, and others had dyed their hair to match their outfits. I can only imagine that this type of scene is what scared some viewers into saying the halftime show was “scary” and “militaristic.”
That’s ok, but it was by design. The performance was meant to make us question things, created as a living protest, and isn’t threatening to the viewing public at all. So you might have to sit in that discomfort for a while.
He quickly launches into “DNA,” which famously challenges a deplorably racist Fox anchor’s comments about hip-hop being damaging to black people. He runs across the field to dance in front of varying dancer formations, then gives us some “Euphoria” and slows down for a rendition of “Man at the Garden” with a slew of dancers seemingly hanging out by a lamp post behind him.
“Peekaboo” begins after another appearance by Samuel, who – in keeping with the gaming theme – tells the scorekeeper that Lamar only has one life. Kendrick and his dancers are now inside one of the X’s on the field, looking like a Nintendo controller. He rotates thorough the “X,” bouncing around and making for a really interactive time with the television audience.
Then, Kendrick pauses and asks a group of female dancers, “I wanna perform they favorite song but you know they love to sue.” The introductory instrumentals to THAT SONG begin, and the crowd goes WILD. But he’s teasing us, and you can hear Samuel yell, “You’ve lost your damn mind!” while Kendrick slows everything down.
Smooth R&B starts, and he rolls right into a sultry version of “Luther” featuring the indelible SZA. Our girl first appears sitting down casually, decided out fully in a gorgeous red that perfectly matches her hair and goes well with Kendrick’s mostly-blue getup. This slower tempo moment allows them to really connect with each other on stage. It also gives the pair the momentum they need to launch into the Black Panther anthem “All the Stars.” SZA was A-plus, no notes. What a powerful, beautiful presence to have joined him on stage, a moment that got us extra amped for their upcoming tour.
Samuel L. Jackson comes back in with similar commentary as before, noting that “nice and calm” is “what America wants.” The humor and the magic in these moments cannot be spoken about enough, he was making fun of us to our faces and I truly couldn’t get enough of it. He was about to wrap it up all “politically correct” when Kendrick decided it was time.
“Not Like Us” was incredible, an aerial shot catching more sharp, beautiful moments from the dancers. The freestyle coupled with very impactful choreographed moves made it such a celebration of community and diversity at the same time. No one had to sing to make a deliberate, profound statement.
But he did. And when Kendrick did, he looked right down the barrel of the camera as he said, “Say, Drake, I hear you like them young.” The pettiness was palpable, but it was also powerful. Especially when you take into account all of the hushed rumors that have swirled about Drake and his preferences and behavior over the years. While some might take Lamar’s diss tracks as pure petty for the sake of being that way, he’s using his platform to call out unacceptable behavior that has (for some reason) been normalized. He’s calling things out, and he’s doing it strategically.
If you want to fight me about the fact that there are no current official allegations against Drake, I would like to say one thing. The cameras panned the stage pretty quickly, but you caught it as well. The GOAT Serena Williams was c-walking on stage. They showed her twice, living in her joy and dancing her ass off. Which most people would think nothing of until you realize two facts.
One, that this incredible talent was policed for celebrating at the Olympics in 2012 with the same c-walk or “Crip Walk” dance. The media and fans ripped into how the champion celebrated, which was no better or worse than anyone else. Now, she gets to do the same walk on the most televised event, and she gets to do it with ferocity.
Two, that Serena was romantically linked with Drake from 2010-2016. Having her dance during this diss track about him is an extra dig for her, but it’s also a statement. If you weren’t fascinated by the entire stadium singing “a minor,” the fact that Lamar was wearing a lowercase “a” chain – literally “a minor” -, or the flags that some dancers were flying with kids on them, then I need you to know it all happened and it’s all connected. Serena’s participation seems to be a co-sign that the claims in the song aren’t just claims.
Which should worry you, if you weren’t already aware – and nervous – of Drake’s shifty behavior.
For those who didn’t recognize all of the Easter eggs, Lamar worked with a team to build out a gaming controller set, dancing within different buttons. By the end, he was rapping, “turn the tv off, turn the tv off,” smiled into the camera, and then the lights went down on the floor and the lights in the seats spelled GAME OVER.
**I do want to recognize that during the telecast, one of the dancers bravely waved Sudanese and Gazan flags. Having some of the dancers wear face and head wraps helped to make this possible. It allowed for people to make their own statements showing as much or as little of their bodies as possible.
CBS Mornings took the helm celebrating the performance. “Everything he did had power, had purpose,” exclaimed Vlad Duthiers. But while they took time to discuss America’s reaction and the controversy around it all, they didn’t mention the live genocide protest or several very important Easter eggs. For the most part, even for as liberal as their cast is, you could see how the media is being asked to speak about the performance overall.
If you take that halftime show and couple it with the incredible pre-show performances by musical legends Lady Gaga and Jon Batiste – and “America The Beautiful” performed by Lauren Daigle and Trombone Shorty – the game was a full win all around. Those involved were pumping diversity into the mix, bringing us not just a variety of people of all different backgrounds and affiliations, but celebrating it. Plus, multiple genres were represented with a noticeable majority black performers.
For the record…
I love that the first black female coach in the NFL, Autumn Lockwood, took home a championship victory.
Two people got booed and I’m not mad at it.
The HAIM sisters passively existing everywhere makes me laugh a lot.
I’m overjoyed for SZA’s mom, specifically.
Paul Rudd looked like he wanted to melt into the floor of embarrassment, that poor man.
Jon Hamm lost his voice before the game, which makes him the real winner.
I’d like Bradley Cooper’s food truck to make a pit stop here.
Julien Baker Week descended on New York City with a flourish, the rush of which resembled the city itself. With three sold-out nights at Webster Hall, tickets were highly coveted. This was even reflected in the line prior to doors, as fans began to line up around 2-3pm, gunning for the first row.
On the second night, however, Baker suffered from a stomach bug and had to end the show after 40 minutes. Thankfully, she added a date to make up for the shorter set, this time at Brooklyn Steel, where she has played three times in the past. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the show was added last minute, Baker didn’t have a second opener. She then enlisted her Boygenius bandmate, Lucy Dacus, to do a short interlude after singer/songwriter Katie Malco’s set.
As Lucy Dacus took the stage, armed only with her acoustic guitar, the ear-piercing screams that greeted her would have had one convinced that she herself was the headliner as opposed to Baker. The crowd sang along, providing enthusiastic accompaniment. Dacus was smiley and chatty, joking around between songs and telling stories, even debuting a brand-new song. Ending with “Night Shift,” Baker and her band joined in to do it electric, mimicking the exact feeling of the night.
When Baker took the stage, the energy shifted to one of quiet reverence. After her band played the intro to her second LP, Turn Out the Lights, “Over,” Baker began to sing “Appointments,” the opening track. Performing songs from each of her records, 2015’s Sprained Ankle, 2017’s aforementioned Turn Out the Lights, and 2019’s Little Oblivions, the setlist covered the span of her career, including some of her EPs, such as tracks like “Tokyo” and “Red Door.” She also played two new songs, “Middle Children” and “High in the Basement.’ Further, Baker excitingly rearranged some of her songs, giving them a new emotional pull. She also had her band backing her up (which has only occurred on the Wild Hearts tour) as opposed to her earlier shows with only an acoustic guitar.
Baker next heads to San Francisco and LA, where she is playing a 3-show residency in each city. After, she will fly to London for a 4-show residency.
The best way to spend the sunset during Friday’s Day 1 at Riot Fest 2024 was at the Radical Stage at 7:25 pm. The legendary Cypress Hill took the stage to an absolutely insane crowd. It was our first set in the pit, since we came in on a train earlier in the day and took longer to adjust than expected, but it was a phenomenal way to start our Riot Fest weekend.
Cypress Hill treated fans to hits like “Hand on the Pump,” “Cock the Hammer,” “When the Shit Goes Down,” “I Wanna Get High,” and that was just within the first few tracks performed. “Insane in the Brain” and “Jump Around” made appearances as well, as they were played live and during (incredibly limited) breaks between acts.
