Throughout the pandemic, Jagwar Twin and little luna have connected with their fans mainly through music and online social media. With human connection and self discovery being so important and accomplished within both artists, it was a pleasure to get to be in the crowd at their show. Fridays nights are the best nights to every go to a show, or hang out with friends, and just meet with each other. Lucky for us, I got to experience all there in one location last night at The Troubadour. With set lists of music that spread stories of being true to who you are, and a lifetime of memories and emotion, both Jagwar Twin and little luna gathered great friends at their show.
With opening act, singer-songwriter, little luna performing there was no doubt this show wouldn’t bring an amazing energy. Kicking off her set with a hit, “last time”, is a song about her current journey of outgrowing her phase of being a people pleaser. She shared more about her journey as an artist, and talked about how on her very own headline tour, she wants to lead a group meditation to allow all of her fans and guests to allow them to bring their minds into the moments and space that they are in, so they can be truly present. Being all she says she is, we all took a breath together and allowed ourselves to be in the moment. Creating a space where we had all become present in the moment with each other was something that truly helped elevate the experience of being there, especially with this being one of her first live performances of many to come. If I hadn’t told you this, but you came out to the show, you wouldn’t even be able to tell! She has such an amazing stage presence and was definitely born to be put on a stage. She performed a cinematic version of "shift & go" and it was untouchable. With her friend and violinist, who is featured many times in her career, little luna is nothing short of a performer. Her set contained a total of seven tracks, which included a cover of “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, and an unreleased song titled “want it all”. Both of these last tracks were definitely ones you do not want to miss at her next show, so keep little luna on your radar.
Shortly after little luna left the stage, Jagwar Twin sets the mood with incense and an outstanding intro. With a thirteen song set, there were so many things to be processed, in the best way possible. Starting off his performance with and intro of calming nature helped truly up the segue into his fast paced music. Directly from the intro, he transitions in “I like to Party” and we sure did party. Everyone in the venue began to jump and dance, which feels like the only correct thing to do at a concert. With relatable lyrics like “I like to party with all of my friends/But we don’t go outside/We stay in and pretend that we’re in the club”, I felt a strong liking to the message of his music, especially post-pandemic. In Jagwar Twin’s biography, Roy (the creative mind behind Jagwar Twin) said that growing up he never felt that he fit in whether it be with the guys because of his voice or with the girls. Moving into a song that was inspired by these feelings, he told the crowd to put their “Ls up” with their hands as a way of connection. One thing I absolutely adored about this show was that there was such a strong community being made, and that’s something that shouldn’t go unrecognized. When they say that “music is a universal language” this show definitely proved it. With a song like “Loser”, Roy emphasizes the feeling of being left out, and he’s a “loser, baby just like you”. After a couple more songs, he starts talking about dating apps, and that with access to the internet it’s kind of crazy that a majority of our lives happen on there. Getting vulnerable, he told us that he’s currently on a dating app now, after him and his partner went separate ways during the pandemic. Being so vulnerable in a place filled with so many people, that he both knows and doesn’t know is always something that makes an artist stick out because you know they aren’t putting up a front. He then talked about how he is doing okay and that he was waiting for the day in his life where he felt like he was talking about nothing but people would just stare at him and listen to him simply talk, and that’s what we did. Even with all of that said, he transitioned into a song that carries on vulnerability, “Move to You”. With it being a slower song, fans in the crowd held up their cell phones with the lights turned on and it was such a beautiful moment from the crowd, I wouldn’t be able to think what it looks like from the stage.
Flipping the switch, he performed “Down to You”, which is one of my favorite tracks, and he did not disappoint in the slightest. Almost everyone in the crowd was dancing, especially Roy. Dancing around as fast and as much as he did, I was shocked how he wasn’t out of breath and still sang flawlessly. We sang, we danced, we had the best time of our lives, then it got even better. He introduced a couple new songs, one featuring little luna and man, I feel like I just have absolutely no words. These two on a stage together is something you never want to miss. The chemistry and friendship between the two transfers and spreads through every person in the audience and you can feel it in your bones. After a couple of songs, he goes into his last few words about his track, “Happy Face” and how when he was signed with a major record label, they didn’t want him to release the song. He then got dropped from the label, released the song, and grew from there, slowly but surely and he couldn’t be more thankful. Thanking his parents who were in the crowd, he said that leaving his label was the best thing he’s ever done for himself and that he felt incredibly lucky to have parents that supported him through every move. His mom, stood up and waved to everybody from the balcony, and he told us that the Troubadour was his mom’s favorite venue and always mentions that Joni Mitchell played on the same stage, so it was special to him. Performing his last song with so much energy, “Happy Face” was the perfect song to end with. There were adrenaline rushes moving all through the venue and everyone was singing and dancing with everything in them. If you’re looking to make new friends, find new music, and build an amazing community while having the time of your life, a Jagwar Twin show is the place to be. He and his amazing live band will be performing in Chicago at Cobra Lounge on June 29th, so grab your tickets if you’re around!
