Chelsea Cutler
Mercury Ballroom 10/13/22
Louisville Ky
Kailey O. Photographer
Cameron D. Journalist
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Live Review
Following the October 2021 release of her sophomore album When I Close my Eyes, electronic pop/rock star Chelsea Cutler has celebrated a whirlwind year. For her, 2022 began with twenty seven tour dates across the country followed by a string of overwhelmingly successful summer festival appearances. Now, it is only fitting that she rides out the rest of her triumphant year with an additional twenty four shows throughout the U.S.. I personally have followed Cutler’s journey since 2017, when she broke out of the Soundcloud scene and into the mainstream, so I knew I would have to snag tickets to her Louisville show.
On the evening of October 13th, fans spilled into Louisville’s Mercury Ballroom, many of them donning merch from Cutler’s previous tour, How to Be Human. The show began with an upbeat opening set by up-and-coming indie artist Arden Jones, followed by a highly danceable set by Ayokay, an EDM group signed under the same management team as Cutler. By this point, fans were officially hyped up, cheering in unison, “CHELSEA, CHELSEA, CHELSEA,” as they awaited their beloved pop star. When the band took to the stage, the shrieks of 900 fans roared over the opening notes of “Under”, an anthemic confessional love song and one of the most popular from her recent album. The crowd matched Cutler’s energetic stage presence by singing nearly every word back to her, setting the tone for a show that would feel more like a group dance party than a concert.
As Cutler pushed through several lively and impassioned tracks, including the perfect heartbreak anthem “Sad Tonight”, as well as more electronic fan-faves such as “Cold Showers” and “AF1s”. Cutler engaged with the crowd throughout the show, showing her endearing nature as she took selfies on fan’s cell phones, talked to children in the audience, and read aloud hand-made signs that were sprinkled throughout the crowd. The show slowed down a bit as Cutler transitioned to some of her more solemn heartbreak tracks, including the tear-jerking acoustic “Crazier Things”, and–my personal favorite– “nj”. She didn’t let us wallow for long though, as she picked the tone back up to round out the show with the joyful, hopeful, and powerful track “When I Close My Eyes”.
Any fan of Cutler knows that she classically delivers incredible encores, and this show was no exception. Following some chanting from the audience, the band returned to the stage and jumped right into her viral single “the lifeboats empty”, sending fans into a headbanging frenzy. She followed up with arguably her “hardest” EDM track “Mess”, and closed out with a perfectly extended version of the OG Chelsea song “Your Shirt”, a track that die-hard fans know like the back of their hand. Overall, Cutler delivered exactly what the crowd asked of her: a fun night of live music with all the feels of joy, hope, loss, heartbreak, and nostalgia.
