Photography by Will Ingman
By Amber Garcia, Staff Writer
Artist: Caroline Rose
Venue: The Sinclair
When: Saturday, October 16th
OPENING ACT: JOANNA STERNBERG
Saturday night at the Sinclair, Caroline Rose played with opener Joanna Sternberg. Sternberg, a musician from New York City, came on the stage alone, with their guitar in hand. The acoustic set reminded me of a singer in a bar— no background people, no help, just them and their instrument. During the set Joanna apologized as they tuned their guitar, “sorry, I’m not a band.”
They started off with their track “Don’t You Ever” from their album Then I Try Some More. Joanna’s sound matched the energy of the show perfectly. With more compositional elements, we were shown a strong blues background. The singer sang of emotional times, not knowing who they were and who they wanted to be with the song, “This Is Not Who I Want To Be.” Joanna’s song lyrics were met with tears at the end of their set, the singer emotional from the show and the audience's praise.
THE POWER OF VULNERABILITY
Once Jonna’s set was over, we soon had Caroline Rose come on with two of her musicians. Caroline spoke quickly on Joanna and how she came to pick them for her show. “It’s not every day that you hear a song that you are like ‘this doesn't need anything else,’ It’s words and it's music and it's all that you need," she said. Joanna’s vulnerability touched Caroline— vulnerability in their lyrics and in their emotions.
Caroline spoke frankly that it was a bad day for both herself and Joanna. She went on to explain that she also got emotional listening to Joanna’s touching set. The singer said, “There’s something about the power of a good song, that the sadness of someone who feels a lot [can] make you feel less alone... It makes me feel so much better that I’m not alone.”
RAINBOW LIGHTS AND GUITAR SOLOS
Caroline Rose, the Long Island-based artist, sings folk and pop music. Caroline opened the night with umph, singing her most popular songs towards the beginning of the show. From her album Superstar, we heard “Nothing's Impossible.” The upbeat indie song carried through the venue and was met with beautiful vocals from her background musician and singer. The crowd danced as she sang “Jeannie Becomes A Mom” from her album Loner. Its slow lead-in and bright vocals from Caroline made a great atmosphere.
Notably, the set, a blank tapestry with rainbow lights being cascaded onto it and shadows from the musicians moving on it, was a different take on concert stage setups. Rather than a single light shown throughout the show, the stage was lit up with character.
THE LAST SONG
Before the famous encore, Caroline said, “this is our last song tonight, I hate encores so we’ll play this, then three more after.” The remaining songs were filled with guitar riffs, more tracks from Loner, and comedic stand-up from the lead singer. Her more intense songs from Loner like “Bikini” and “Soul N.5” were a great addition to the set. They are more intense than her soft-pop usuals.
Caroline finished off the show with “Cry.” The highly-anticipated song was a great ending. Its infectious good-energy had the whole crowd up on their feet and immersed in the music.
The crowd's response wasn't just limited to "Cry," though. Caroline’s spunk throughout the night was endearing and not one body wasn’t moving during the show.
