Nightly Brings the Vibes To An Early Show at 9:30 Club
BY LIZ BAUMMERThere’s very few things I love more than an early night show on a Friday. Maybe I’m just simply no fun or getting old, but a headliner who goes on at 7:45 has my heart any day of the week. But before we even get to the headliner, there were two openers before that. Three artists and the show is over by 10?!?!?!!? In my book that is what dreams are made of and that’s what I got on Friday, April 18.
To make things even better, this was a Nightly show. I covered Nightly at the end of 2023 at the 9:30 Club so I was extra excited for this show given how much I enjoyed their last. I also wrote an album review of Wear Your Heart Out around that same time so I had high expectations for this show. And let me just say, they met every single one with ease.
The first thing I love about a Nightly show is they bring along some of the best openers and this tour was no exception. Fans were so excited to be barricade for Nightly AND catch the openers that there was a line down the block when I arrived 10 minutes before doors even opened. That doesn’t even take into account the multitude of people that were already inside from the early entry/VIP experience. The fans were clearly as hyped about this show as I was.
The night started off with Brooke Alexx, an artist who I am actually familiar with from her viral success on TikTok. Alexx truly brought the energy to her set alongside her accompanist who also happened to be her boyfriend. Their relationship really brought a fun dynamic to her set especially when she sang Younger Guys which she wrote about the fact that her boyfriend is younger than her. She also sang my personal favorite of her songs which is All My Exes’ Moms. This is the song I found her from on Tiktok and honestly it is just so catchy and fun to sing along too. My favorite part of her performance was how dynamic she was onstage. I truly think for at least 90% of her performance she was continually running side to side or dancing on the stage. At one point she sat on the edge of the stage before moving to stand up against the barricade to sing directly to the fans. I love a good audience interaction moments, and I was so lucky to be in the perfectly right place to capture this.
Following Brooke Alexx, Will Linley took the stage. If there’s one thing you should know about me it is that I am an avid member of the Gingerbread Club (the name given to Linley’s fanbase). In fact, last year his song Last Call topped my Spotify Wrapped. I have always asserted the opinion that he is going to be massive in the coming years and his DC trajectory only backs up my theory. So far I have photographed him playing DC9, The Atlantis, and now 9:30 Club which in my opinion means the next logical step is to see him play The Anthem. It’s so fun to photograph an artist multiple times especially when they are really growing and becoming more popular because you get to see them evolve. While Linley played some of my old favorites including but not limited to Magic, Last Call, Blame, and Just Because I Called You; he also played an unreleased song called Cinematic from his upcoming releases. Simply put, Linley has star power. He’s magnetic and mesmerizing in a way that I don’t really think can be taught. He commands the stage as if it was made for him, dancing wholeheartedly in a way that beckons the audience to join in. His music and his performance is irresistible, and it should not come as a surprise that he is rising through the ranks of bigger and bigger DC venues.
Finally, nice and early on a Friday evening, Nightly took the stage. Sometimes I wonder if, as an artist, it is harder to set the vibes for an early show than a late show. I feel like the later in the evening on a Friday you get the higher the energy and the more appropriate it feels to let loose and dance, and I have always theorized about how that might affect an artist's set for an earlier show like on this particular evening. But if there was an impact, I certainly wasn’t able to tell and judging by the crowd;s reaction to Nightly neither could they. One of my favorite things about Nightly, aside from their music, is the way they set and shift the mood and tone of their show through their production elements. If you’ve ever read a review of mine before, you’ll know I talk about production elements a lot and oftentimes, I feel like they end up under utilized. Nightly does such a good job of roping their lighting into their set in a way that feels intentional and adds to their performance. I particularly enjoy how their lighting, especially at the beginning of their set, is more dark and shadowing. It’s bright enough that of course you can still see them, but dark enough that the venue feels small and intimate. Later in the set, the then amped it up to lots of bright lights and fun colors which are always such a joy to capture.
Nightly has played DC many times before, previously visiting venues such as 9:30 Club, DC9, and Union Stage. With such a loyal fanbase built over those years, I loved that Nightly played some of their older music mixed in with their newer hits. When any artist does this, it is such a treat for og fans because a lot of times artists don’t add a lot of their older songs to their setlists. This show they played No Vacancy and XO (the first song they ever released) acoustically around the midpoint of the set. Nightly also took on two heavy hitting covers to add to their setlist. They played both Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer and All Star by Smash Mouth. Both of those songs are so iconic that I imagine you have to be really confident in your ability to cover them to put them on the setlist, and as expected Nightly hit both covers out of the park.
Overall, I have never been disappointed at a Nightly show. I’ve seen two and would definitely see a third the next time they travel through DC!
