Pride; a time of joy and unity. Almost a blessing and a curse that the news which broke on Friday preceded such a blissful weekend. It was hard for many of us to turn the news off and just come back to Earth; some of us got lucky with distractions via awesome pride events. I was in the latter group, as I ventured downtown and took in the sights of our annual Pride celebration. Carnival rides and streets full of people filled the streets of Minneapolis as I made my way to the Armory on Saturday night.
While the parking costs will never not startle me, I grabbed the ramp ticket from the machine and parked before making my way into the venue. The Armory is always a treat, and the energy was amazing as many of the concert-goers had been celebrating all day leading up to the show.
Opening up we had DJ QueenDuin and she was an absolute BLAST! With a set list of awesome throwbacks mixed with a fresh twist, the venue was slowly filling as the Queen hyped the crowd up for Carly Rae. A local DJ, Duin is the resident DJ at the Saloon downtown and has a growing reputation as a queer Latinx influencer in the Twin Cities. Her stage presence was energetic and uplifting and helped get the place truly “warmed up” for Carly Rae.
After the crowd took a selfie with the DJ, we had a brief set change before Carly took over the show. I had no idea what to expect as I, admittedly, only knew a couple of Carly’s song before covering her.
I was very impressed by her confidence and overall swagger; Carly came out like she owned the place with a super-cool bow-tie looking top that fit right in with the audience’s vibe and made it clear that she was fully herself. I found myself saving song after song throughout her set as they just… well – rocked. Carly Rae blew us away.
Known for “Call Me Maybe” more than anything else, a reputation needs to be reevaluated in my mind – Carly Rae and her collection of music is legit and measuring her by one viral song is so so wrong. Check out her music on any streaming platform ASAP and just give it a shot – or if anything, see her live; it’s really, really fun.
