Who: Sharp Pins, Swirlies, Snail Mail
Where: Big Night Live
When: Friday, April 17, 2026
– Ana Achata, Staff Writer
Following their most recent album release, Ricochet, Snail Mail is taking North America in a whirl of colorful stage lights and fantastic guitar riffs that leave audiences jumping and dancing on their way out the door. Accompanied by Chicago band Sharp Pins and 80s shoegaze band Swirlies, this show took the audience at Big Night Live through a collage of sounds and voices.
A Sharp Start
If you’ve ever spent more than five minutes in a room with me, you’ve probably heard of Sharp Pins. I’m a firm believer in the Chicago teen-beat movement, where rock and roll is alive and well, youth activism is thriving, and Sharp Pins are in the middle of it all. They were true to themselves on stage, dressed in 60s-esque blazers and pants, bringing the early sounds of power pop back to the music scene. Four sharp pins took center stage, and together they made quite a scene. I can confidently say that you will never be bored watching a Sharp Pins set. A rock and roll rendition of their track “I Can’t Stop” had audience members smiling and dancing in the center of the room as frontman Kai Slater leapt and kicked around the stage. I’d like to think that seeing bands like The Nerves or Flamin’ Groovies might have elicited the same rush that Sharp Pins have managed to invoke with their nostalgia-riddled harmonies.
Swirlies Make Your Head Spin
Formed in the 90s right here in Boston, Swirlies’ music made me feel like I had entered another dimension. I’ve found that shoegaze tends to make me feel that way, sending me into a spacey, in-between place that is neither here nor there. Dubbed by Bandcamp in 2025 as the greatest shoegaze band of all time, Swirlies had audience members entranced. Some were swaying back and forth with their eyes closed, while others clasped hands and danced sporadically. Singer Deborah Warfield’s sweet and haunting vocals seeped through the room, paired with twangs from string instruments and synthetic keyboard sounds. Shoegaze is always so hard for me to describe–it’s sort of like a wave of sound is washing over you and shaking up your insides, and you just have to try your hardest to soak it all in.
I talked to Sharp Pins drummer Peter Cimbalo between sets, and in a short exchange about Swirlies, he called them “the original influencers” of the shoegaze genre. I took his word for it–Swirlies made my head spin.
The Woman of the Hour
When Snail Mail came on stage, a bucket of pure joy emptied itself out into the crowd. I saw friends hugging, crying, and dancing all within a few feet of me. I have to say it was contagious. Lindsey Jordan, A.K.A. Snail Mail, was a powerhouse with a cropped haircut and three different guitars (or was it four? Maybe it was five… I lost count) that she cycled through every other song. My roommate came along with me to the show, and I must’ve turned to her at the end of every song to say, “Do you see how many guitars she has?” I thought it was pretty cool. One of them was pink!
The set opened with two songs off of Ricochet, Jordan’s latest album released in March of 2026, the room overflowing with riff after riff. Not even the full two songs in, I scribbled “GIRLS invented Rock&Roll” on my notepad. Combined with the backdrop of a house plastered on the back wall of the stage, Jordan brought the entire audience into her own personal bubble, or something akin to her bedroom on a Friday night. It felt raw and electric, sending the girls standing in front of me into jumping fits whenever Jordan belted out a particularly good set of lyrics. “Dead End” was particularly fun to hear, with its upbeat percussion and one of the most catchy guitar riffs that I’ve ever heard.
The track itself is a reflection on an old friendship, with the lyrics, “Hours we’d spend / Parked at the dead end / You’re burned in my heart, old friend / Tell me, can’t you even look me in my eyes?” jarring listeners with their bluntness. It was almost like my own lost friendships flashed before my eyes–Snail Mail was the soundtrack to my high school years, and I became acutely aware of how much has changed since then. Sixteen-year-old Ana was listening to Jordan’s 2021 album Valentine, and now I’m twenty-one and listening to Ricochet. Funny how time works.
Closing Out the Night
After playing all eleven tracks off of Ricochet, Snail Mail took us all the way back to the beginning. Returning for a two song encore, “Thinning” off of Habit, Jordan’s very first album released in 2016 came humming through the speakers. The crowd roared to life for the thousandth time that night, and a grin spread across Jordan’s face, and she expressed her excitement over the fact that so many people knew her older songs. Following thunderous applause came “Pristine” off of the 2018 album Lush, and the audience swayed and danced one last time.
By the time the crowd thinned out and my ears stopped ringing, I felt like I had traveled across decades. From Sharp Pins’ 70s-inspired sound, to the ebb and flow of Swirlies, and then all the way to today’s indie rock genre, I felt giddy with joy. That’s sort of cheesy, and yet every time I go to a live show, no matter the genre, I’m reminded of how human we all are. Maybe I just love seeing girls dancing and having fun together. This show was a fantastic start to my Spring, and I think everyone should try and get to at least one show in the coming warm months. If you can, try and catch Snail Mail before her tour is over–you won’t regret it.
