When I first got to the 7th St venue on Saturday, I was met with a crowd of about 20 people. Granted, there were still 30 minutes before the show started, but I was still beginning to wonder if this would be the crowd for Katelyn Tarver tonight. I am happy to report that I couldn’t have been more wrong. By the time the show started, it was packed full of fans, ready for Katelyn. The official opener for this tour is Rosie Darling. Unfortunately, Rosie was sick, so she had to cancel her set for our show to preserve her voice. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to have one of Minneapolis’s own, Julia Eubanks from the band Creeping Charlie, who made a last-minute appearance as an opener. Even though Julia is more used to being on stage with her band (as stated by Julia herself) and the fact that there was only a day’s notice to prepare, she swept the crowd away with her performance. The juxtaposition of her whimsical, soothing voice and the edgy electric guitar was satisfying.2
When Katelyn came on stage, it felt like I was watching old friends reunite. Her energy on stage felt comforting and familiar, even though this was my first time seeing her perform. Since she has been making music since 2011, Tarver has projects spanning over a decade. That didn’t stop her from giving each era a moment in the spotlight; she even made a Taylor Swift joke about it.
Every song she performed was incredibly emotional, dealing with topics from heartbreak to finding yourself. She sang in a very vulnerable state, making her songwriting stick out to me even more. It felt like every song was a different chapter to a much longer story she was slowly piecing together.
Katelyn’s tour was titled the ‘Compliments Only’ tour, so it seems only fitting that she has a segment dedicated to complimenting her drummer and guitarist who shares the stage with her. Each night is a different compliment, bringing a fresh and pure energy to the night.
At the end of the night, I left feeling like I had just spent the night with a room full of friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. Katelyn Tarver is an exceptionally talented artist, and with this being her first headline tour, this is only the beginning for her.
