On Thursday night in NYC, right off the J and Z line at Bowery Station, the six-piece Queer and POC group MICHELLE wrapped up their last night on tour with a sold-out hometown show at The Bowery Ballroom.
MICHELLE kicked off their string of headline dates on March 10 at Slowdown in Omaha, Nebraska. Then, they opened for Mitski on select tour dates for the remainder of March 2022 and continued their headline tour from April to early May!
With two producers/songwriters Charlie Kilgore & Julian Kaufman and four female vocalists Sofia D’Angelo, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard, MICHELLE formed back in 2018 and has taken off since then. MICHELLE bring a new meaning to indie-pop with their harmonic vocals and use of synthesizers to their insane visuals and contemporary choreography. Each member has a uniquely different but complimenting aesthetic and sound when joined together.
Listening to their music you can hear influences from artists such as Clairo, Gus Dapperton, and Arlo Parks, whom they have gotten close to over the last few years.
They started off the night with opener Sylo Nozra a Toronto-based R&B/soul artist.
From the second MICHELLE stepped on stage the crowd was more ready than ever. After performing their first song, Layla announced how good it is to be back home and followed it with the famously all too familiar NYC slang “YUURRRR” as the native crowd proudly responded back. She explained that most crowds they’ve played for naturally scream in return because they never know how to respond back until tonight. While it was difficult for me to navigate through the crowd to get some shots of the collective, it was very clear to me that their fan base are loyal individuals who were evidently welcoming the group back home with open arms and tons of energy for the rest of the night.
They had friends and family proudly recording from the top balcony of the show as the GA floor shook with every synchronized movement the fans took. The satisfying harmonies that we hear in their records were just as amazing live when the collective announced they would perform an unreleased song that they don’t have a track for because of how recent it is. Fans grew louder and louder at the thought of getting a sneak peek. After the crowd came down the girls counted off to start their acapella rendition of what we thought was a new release and beautifully sing, “We have merch!” with details on where to purchase their merchandise during the show!
