Since the school year is finally over, I’ve been looking for artists to spend my summer nights with. I hadn’t heard of Harriette until I saw she was playing a show in Nashville, but I took a chance to see her and am glad I did. The 23-year-old singer quickly rose to fame with her song “at least i’m pretty” in 2021. This viral moment on TikTok placed her on the radar of the alternative-pop duo joan, who took her on tour with them during their “superglue” tour. Nashville was only the second night of the tour, but neither Harriette nor joan missed a beat as both performers seemed to be natural stars.
Harriette walked on stage in a Y2K-style outfit and was joined by her best friend Puma, who accompanied her by playing guitar and singing backup vocals. Harriette primarily sang songs from her recent debut album “i heart the internet,” including “Black and Blue,” “bc i love you” and “Lying is Cute.” As the titles suggest, Harriette’s lyrics are the perfect songs for any young and in-love person to relate to.
When taking breaks between songs, Harriette would often say “slay” to break the silence and relate to the Gen Z members in the audience. Midway through the set, Harriette asked the crowd, “What do you guys think about me? What do you think about me when I say ‘slay’? Are you mad?” Of course, the crowd laughed and said no in response, as they all admitted to constantly saying it as well.
Toward the end of the set, Harriette introduced her song “Sunday,” which was also from her recent album.
“Happy Sunday, this song is called ‘Sunday,’” Harriette said. “Oh, and happy Mother’s Day.”
She ended her set by singing her hit “at least i’m pretty,” which many members of the crowd sang along to. She then thanked joan for allowing her to open for them on tour. As Harriette would say, she slayed her opening set.
Soon after Harriette left the stage, joan came on and kept the energy going. Joan is an indie-pop duo comprised of lead singer and guitarist Alan Thomas along with drummer and guitarist Steven Rutherford. The pair was accompanied by Noah Nockels on keys and Levi Bennett on drums.
The duo opened with “life death & everything between” and continued with “simple,” the first and second songs off of “superglue.” This new album, released on April 19, was the centerpiece of the tour. After the second song, Thomas stopped to talk about the tour and new album.
“This is the debut,” Thomas said. “Let’s reverse. This is the second debut of the album ‘superglue.’”
The duo continued with close to two hours of music, playing songs from their newly released debut album, including “nervous,” “don’t wanna be your friend” and “flowers.” They also played some fan favorites, including “i loved you first,” “so good,” “magnetic” and “love me better,” which prompted lots of dancing from the crowd. Each song was accompanied by visuals projected onto a screen behind them and flashing lights to immerse the crowd in the music.
To end the night, joan concluded their set with “love somebody like you” and “drive all night.” The balance of indie bedroom pop vibes from Harriette and alternative-pop vibes from joan was perfect for a Sunday night.
