Since it reopened in May, Exit/In has quickly become one of my most frequented concert venues in Nashville. When I heard BIZZY and FRENSHIP were performing on Oct. 7, I knew I had to be there. I casually listened to the band in high school and was excited to see them perform live. Prior to the show, I listened through both artists’ discography and am thankful I took a chance to re-listen because I felt way more excited walking in the door.
FRENSHIP is an electro-pop duo based out of Los Angeles. Brett Hite and bandmate James Sunderland recently celebrated 10 years of making music together. They met while working a retail job and have released many projects over the years. The Nashville stop on their “Base Camp” tour was in anticipation of their EP of the same name which drops on Oct. 13.
BIZZY kicked off the night with a fun and interactive set. The Nashville-based pop artist started her set with “Spinach In My Teeth,” a song reflecting on dating someone everyone else disapproves of. I was immediately drawn to her raw lyrics and groovy production. In her excitement, one of BIZZY’s rings flew off her hand into the face of an audience member in the front row. She apologized for the accident and gifted the ring to the individual, checking in with the crowd before jumping into more songs.
Many of BIZZY’s friends and family members were in the crowd which set an intimate mood. Her sister sang along and yelled out the name of the muse for the song “Just Yet.” BIZZY continued as she sang the poignant “I Don’t Get Breakups,” her most recent single. She ended her set with her first release, “Anybody,” an honest expression about how BIZZY could fall in love with any person.
Soon after, FRENSHIP took the stage. After playing their first song, they addressed the crowd and set the tone for the rest of the set.
“We just fired our drummer,” Hite, of FRENSHIP, said.
While audience members laughed at Hite’s remark, he made it clear that the band appreciated everyone who chose to attend the show. The Nashville stop on the “Base Camp” tour was only the third show that they have played back as a duo and their first time back in Music City in years.
The duo performed songs from their entire body of work, and I reminisced about the music I listened to as a high school student in my electronic music phase. I was struck then by their vulnerability and felt it even more live.
FRENSHIP chose to close out their set with an acoustic encore of their most popular songs. They chose to start this stripped-back portion of the show with “Capsize,” the band’s biggest song to date with over 600 million streams on Spotify alone. After appealing to long-time listeners with “Morrison,” FRENSHIP ended the performance with “1000 Nights,” a song about the journey of creating an unbreakable bond with another person. Their Oct. 7 show has returned my love for electronic pop music, and I hope to enjoy similar sets this semester.
