Caroline Rose and her band hopped in a van for her tour across North America. She has twenty-four tour dates starting in New York, going up to Canada, and ending in California. Then, they’ll hop on a plane for eight shows around the UK. Sunday night, she was in Minneapolis, in the Mainroom at First Ave. Kairos Creature Club was the opener for Caroline Rose, and they share three band members. Kairos Creature Club gained popularity after their debut EP Join the Club which was recorded during the pandemic. They really set the mood and got the crowd ready for the show. The headliner, Caroline Rose is an alternative artist from Long Island that is hard to put in a box. She began as a folkie and Americana artist and they have evolved to psychedelic indie pop. Rose began with her 2014 project I Will Not Be Afraid, then went more pop with her project Loner in 2018. In 2020, she really established herself with their project called Superstar and they have a new album out called The Art of Forgetting. Caroline Rose came out with a really dramatic introduction with some synths. Once they came out, the whole room was dark except for a light yellow spotlight on her and she was finger-picking her acoustic guitar. The light behind her reminded me of a whole moon. Rose had a scraggly dirty blonde mullet and was wearing a matching white and green striped suit but with shorts. They had the jacket unbuttoned and a red Nike sports bra under. The song transitioned with more energy. Then, red lights flashed on boards with a window screen and we could see the shadows of her band members. After a couple of songs, the lights appeared brighter to reveal a better look at the band members. The boards flashed orange and blue lights for different songs and it reminded me of something the Pet Shop Boys would do. We could see there was someone who played the keys and electric guitar, someone playing a synth, a bassist, and a drummer. Halfway through the show, their stage crew moved the boards behind the band members so we could clearly see everyone. Caroline talked about how proud she was of her “high tech, low budget set” and she turned on and talked about her favorite part of the set, a “$3.99 light” that was on a stand that reminded me of a street light. There was a sky with clouds projected on the boards then they flashed orange lights as well. She very dramatically turned off the light and started to walk off the stage. Everyone was confused until she appeared at the side of the crowd. She mysteriously walked through the crowd and then stood on top of a handrail. The crowd swarmed her, then she eventually jumped and gracefully crowd-surfed back to the stage living life like an angel. After this, she talked to the crowd a bit more. She talked about her tour and how thankful she was for everyone who helped make it happen. Specifically, she talked about how when they started their tour, they played in Vermont and then went to Canada. Caroline complained about how she thought she was done with the cold then she came here and it was winter again. Welcome to spring in Minneapolis! After she talked with the crowd, she played a song on the Piano which was very instrumental with a lot of chords broken down. Another fun part was at the beginning of one of her songs when she stood on one foot and laid her body out like a figure skater would and switched feet and did it to the other side. It was really funny with the instrumentals in the intro of the song. Of course, they ended her set with a bang with tons of flashing lights and a bow from the band. Caroline Rose was really entertaining, and funny, and I would really recommend seeing her.

-Kai Loiseaux-Purcell