#Hillary Safadi

[thebowerypresents]

Chrissy Costanza & VOILÀ – Racket – October 9, 2024

Lead singer of the pop-punk trio Against the Current, New Jersey’s Chrissy Costanza just dropped her debut EP, VII, and celebrated its release alongside L.A. pop duo VOILÀ at Racket on Wednesday, as part of their Spin the Bottle Tour.

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Tinariwen – Brooklyn Steel - July 26, 2024

Tinariwen, the acclaimed group of Saharan refugee musicians, filled a rapt Brooklyn Steel with their guitar- and rock-fueled desert blues and the Nashville-meets-North-Africa sounds featured on their ninth long-player, Amatssou, on Friday night. 

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Tim Heidecker – Brooklyn Steel – February 7, 2025

He’s a comedian, actor, writer and director — and for most people, that would be enough. Fortunately, Tim Heidecker is decidedly not most people. Last year, he put out his eighth album, Slipping Away, filled with folk, country and roots rock. And on a snowy Saturday night, he headlined Brooklyn Steel backed by the Very Good Band.

(Tim Heidecker plays The Sinclair in Cambridge, Mass., tonight.)

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Lexa Gates – Racket – November 26, 2024 

Lexa Gates has been getting raves for her major-label-debut, the rap- and jazz-inflected Elite Vessel. The rapper-singer-producer grew up in Queens, and she came home to New York City on the night before Thanksgiving to close out her tour in style with an upbeat sold-out show at Racket. 

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Toro y Moi & Panda Bear – Terminal 5 – February 14, 2025

Halfway into the North American tour for Hole Erth, Chaz Bear’s experimental-rock outfit Toro y Moi were joined by special guest Panda Bear — who has a new album, Sinister Grift, on the way — on Valentine’s Day at Terminal 5.

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Jersey – Knockdown Center – January 24, 2025

On Friday night, with just two dates left on the North American leg of Jersey’s Please, Don’t Break Our Synths world tour, French electronic producer-DJs-brothers Carl and Renaud filled a sold-out Knockdown Center with lots of good vibes and plenty of synths.

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Chromeo & the Midnight – Terminal 5 – October 4, 2024

Montreal twosome Chromeo and L.A. synthwave duo the Midnight’s joint tour has found them funking up North America together, and Friday night at Terminal 5 was a whole lot more of that ’80s-influenced funky good time.

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Stars – Music Hall of Williamsburg – September 19, 2024

Out on a North American tour in support of the 20th anniversary of their beloved breakthrough album, Set Yourself on Fire, Montreal rock and chamber-pop outfit Stars played a sold-out Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday and sent everyone home with a smile. 

(Stars play Music Hall of Williamsburg again tonight.)

(Stars play Union Transfer in Philadelphia tomorrow.)

(Stars play Royale in Boston on Sunday.)

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Alice Phoebe Lou – Brooklyn Steel – November 10, 2024

Born and raised in South Africa and based in Berlin, singer-songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou capped off the American leg of her North American tour — and the weekend — with a sold-out show at Brooklyn Steel on Sunday night, winning over the crowd with her take on bedroom pop featuring hints of blues, folk, synths and jazz.

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Brat Rave – Webster Hall – August 10, 2024

Brat Summer came to the East Village this weekend, and everyone at a sold-out Webster Hall got down to the sounds and vibes of Charli XCX and party-girl anthems, dancing the night away from late on Friday ’til early on Saturday.

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

MAVI – Music Hall of Williamsburg – September 12, 2024

Just a few dates into the tour behind his stellar third album, Shadowbox — “It’s among his darkest work, but also his most piercing and inventive” — Charlotte, N.C., rapper MAVI landed in Brooklyn on Thursday at a welcoming Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Danny Brown and Frost Children – Music Hall of Williamsburg – August 22, 2024

NYC genre-spanning hyperpop sibling duo Frost Children kept it local last night at a sold-out Music Hall of Williamsburg, first serving as part of the backing band for Detroit rapper Danny Brown and then doing their own set, making Thursday an extra-special night.

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Olivia O’Brien – Racket – June 20, 2024

Olivia O’Brien has been making evocative pop-fueled R&B since she was just a teenager, and on a hot Thursday night in the Meatpacking District, the Southern California singer-songwriter, who recently released a new single, “Glimpse of Me,” thrilled those assembled for her headlining show at Racket.

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Tommy Richman Is Triumphant at Webster Hall

Tommy Richman – Webster Hall – March 24, 2025

The story of Tommy Richman is much bigger than “Million Dollar Baby,” but when you drop a red-hot banger that becomes a viral hit … well, it’s first-sentence material for any reasonable review or descriptor and you own it. Live — at the close of Richman’s raucously peppy set at Webster Hall on Monday — “Million Dollar Baby” delivered, filling the whole space with that heavy, crackling funk known to streamers and TikTokers everywhere, with a huge rush of energy from a crowd ready to get down and gyrate.

Before that, however — and throughout the show — Richman and his band had an inspired showcase, delivering groovy hip-hop, funk and R&B, at times party-ready, at times pointed, at times more slow-’n’-simmering, most of it shot through with his unimpeachable falsetto, all of it charismatic. Richman, who trained as an opera singer earlier in his career, built the performance on the back of his own confident, stage-owning delivery, with a spare setup and no gimmicks or clock-eating asides, very old-school. A different artist might have treated a set like good-natured placeholders hustled out en route to an obvious big finale, but Richman took his time getting to “Million Dollar Baby” and kicked out other tunes like they were just as bodacious — and they were. 

It was a well-balanced set that moved at a breakneck pace. The crowd ate up shimmering opener “Whitney” and the chugging “Temptations” and bopped along to the jittery “Devil Is a Lie” and “Fever,” each quaking the place with their stuttered, bottom-y beats, the former raunchy and skittering, the latter with more of a laid-back, wet-eyed, slow-jammy thing.

Richman also leaned into older material like “Electrify Tonight” — saluting folks who’d supported his early music long before “Baby” — and pulled on his inner Prince for supple groovers like “Thought You Were the One.”Collaborations abounded, too: Opener and frequent partner Mynameisntjmack was called back to the stage in a few spots, including a fizzy “Bunker/Preroll,” and another pal, rapper Trevor Spitta, slid on for “Tennessee” and his own “My Own World.”

Toward the end of the show, the “Million Dollar Baby” payload dropped and then some. The place went crazy and no matter where you were at Webster Hall, you felt the thrum and bounce. There was still “Actin’ Up” — Richman’s latest — to come, swaggering over staccato steel-drum sonics and bringing up most of the night’s collaborators for an all-team pile-on. The lingering image was Richman, his cap backward, all smiles, ending the night, triumphant on his first tour as a headliner. There’ll be plenty more.  —Chad Berndtson | @cberndtson

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Emo Nite – Webster Hall – March 22, 2025

Let’s just say things got a little emo at the late show on Saturday night at Webster Hall. And as a special bonus, there was an acoustic performance from Mayday Parade’s Derek Sanders.

(Emo Nite comes to The National in Richmond, Va., on Friday.)

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi

[thebowerypresents]

Maude Latour Comes Home to Brooklyn Steel

Maude Latour – Brooklyn Steel – March 19, 2025

The stage glows blue as the guitarist strikes the first notes. The drummer joins in and the energy inside Brooklyn Steel starts to rise. Before Maude Latour even steps onstage, everyone in the packed room is moving. A fan near the front blows bubbles that catch the light, floating high above the crowd. Then she appears — striding onto the stage in a blue jersey and metallic shorts, exuding confidence. This is a homecoming. The excitement is palpable, a special night for both Latour and her fans. 

Maude Latour’s debut album, Sugar Water, cemented her as an artist with a distinct voice — philosophical, introspective, infectious. Born in Sweden and raised across places like New York City, London and Hong Kong, her music carries the depth of her experiences. A Columbia University graduate with a degree in philosophy, she brings an intellectual sharpness to her songwriting and her show’s production, balancing existential musings with danceable pop hooks.

The set kicks off with “Officially Mine,” and the crowd is immediately singing the words. The momentum builds with “Too Slow,” as Latour grabs a pom-pom from side stage, fitting perfectly with the jerseys worn by her and her bandmates. She twirls it confidently before tossing it into the audience, fans scrambling for the keepsake. When the song ends, the singer finally addresses the crowd: “This is my hometown show. Every song tonight is about this place, this city,” she says before adding with a grin, “This is an existential rave. A party about life itself.”

The setlist moves seamlessly between past and present. As Latour launches into Sugar Water's title track, she calls out, “Can you spit sugar water straight into my mouth?” before running offstage and returning with a water gun, spraying the audience as she sings the catchy line. The crowd moves with her, bouncing in unison when she leads them into “Cyclone” from her 2022 EP, 001.

Throwing it back to 2019, “Superfruit” has everyone in the venue screaming, “Have I told you that I’m really fuckin’ scared to die?” Latour then slows things down for “Whirlpool,” taking her place at the mic stand for a full-throttle rock moment. But the moment begs for more — rather than staying rooted in place, I only wish she’d have taken this moment to the floor, moving across the stage with the raw, untethered energy the song creates.

When “Comedown” begins she remind us, “New York, all of these songs are about you.” This isn’t just a concert, it’s a return to the city, stories and people that shaped her. One of the night’s most striking moments comes when she climbs into the audience, disappearing for a second before reemerging in the middle of the massive Brooklyn Steel floor. Fans raise their hands as she stands among them, bathed in stage light. She is one with the crowd.

Throughout the night, Latour invites fans into her world — not just as spectators but as participants. She asks them to take a chance, give their number to a stranger or to simply rest a hand on the shoulder of someone new. She creates a space of vulnerability, celebration and raw emotion where music reminds us to live boldly.

There’s nothing like the feeling of coming home to where it all began. For Maude Latour, New York City is more than just a backdrop — it’s the foundation of her journey and the place that shaped her sound and spirit. Tonight isn’t just a performance. It’s a full-circle moment, a testament to how far she’s come and the endless possibilities ahead. —Lexi Yob | @filmbyyobby

Photos courtesy of Hillary Safadi | @hillasafadi