ANNIE DIRUSSO TOUR DATES Mar 26 Bluebird Theater Denver, CO
Mar 28 Kilby Court Salt Lake City, UT Mar 29 Treefort Music Fest Boise, ID Mar 31 Fox Cabaret Vancouver, BC Apr 1 Neumos Seattle, WA Apr 2 Mississippi Studios Portland, OR Apr 4 The Independent San Francisco, CA Apr 5 Teragram Ballroom Los Angeles, CA Apr 6 Casbah San Diego, CA Apr 9 Valley Bar Phoenix, AZ Apr 11 Beer City Music Hall Oklahoma City, OK Apr 12 Antone's Nightclub Austin, TX Apr 13 Dada Dallas, TX Apr 15 The Social Orlando, FL Apr 16 Crowbar Tampa, FL Apr 18 Saturn Birmingham, AL Apr 19 Terminal West Atlanta, GA May 4 Gold Sounds @ Brudenell Social Club Leeds, UK May 7 Omeara London, England May 10 The Road to the Great Escape Glasgow, UK May 11 YES Manchester, UK May 12 - May 13 The Road to The Great Escape Dublin, Ireland May 14 - May 17 The Great Escape Festival Brighton, England May 16 - May 17 London Calling @ Paradiso Amsterdam, NL May 23 Motorco Music Hall Durham, NC May 24 9:30 Club Washington, D.C. May 25 The Wonder Bar Asbury Park, NJ May 28 Webster Hall New York, NY May 29 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA May 30 Higher Ground South Burlington, VT May 31 Bar Le Ritz Montreal, QC Jun 2 Velvet Underground Toronto, ON Jun 3 Mahall's Lakewood, OH Jun 5 El Club Detroit, MI Jun 6 Thalia Hall Chicago, IL Jun 7 Fine Line Minneapolis, MN Jun 8 Vivarium Milwaukee, WI Jun 10 Off Broadway St. Louis, MO Read More
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“First stop- I wouldn’t have it anywhere else! No one starts their tours in Kansas on a Monday… I’m not scared, ya’ll showed up!”
Indie singer-songwriter Annie DiRusso has just embarked on a 32-date multi-nation “Back in Town Tour” in support of debut album, “Super Pedestrian” (which refers both to her not having a driver’s license, and also not living life from the pedestrian seat), and chose to play the first show in downtown Lawrence at the Bottleneck in front of a very devoted crowd.
The evening began with a thirty-minute opening set from NYC-bred, Twin Cities resident alt-pop artist Raffaella, in support of her latest EP, “LIVE, RAFF, LOVE (Act II)”, released back in January via Mom+Pop Records.
The follow-up EP (to Act I) was co-written and produced by her other half, Jake Luppen of Hippo Campus (who are also on tour, and about to support Lumineers in arenas) and examines her own key internal timeline between adolescence and adulthood. We’ve covered her often- before and during that period as well- at least as far back as opening pre-pandemic for Samia, when she was still NY-based, to sharing bills with the likes of Misterwives, Bishop Briggs, and most recently, Charly Bliss.
Her lyrical themes are unafraid and unapologetic- openly taking on depression, anxiety, and avoidance but are sung with a lilting, upbeat voice and comforting indie riffs. Joined by Isaac Dell of St Paul, MN band Why Not, the crowd was lucky enough to hear not one, but two currently unreleased songs, penciled in as additions to her upcoming debut full-length. With the set time running short, a song had to be bumped, and “Blonde” (dedicated to her mom) would end the set.
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With just one debut album, “Super Pedestrian” (via her own Summer Soup Songs [ADA]) under her belt, singer-songwriter Annie DiRusso charged ahead on the first show of her “Back in Town Tour” with a generous and fun eighty-five minute performance, that might be hard to top, as the tour rolls on. The record was produced by Caleb Wright (Hippocampus, Samia, so there’s the connection with the opener) and follows 2023’s breakthrough EP, “God, I Hate This Place”, and two years on the road, headlining and opening for Haim and beabadoobee.
To say she’s built up a following and fan base as a result is an understatement, as several in the crowd were dressed eclectically, and jockeyed for space up front, to get a closer view of DiRusso and band, who were all playing together publicly for the first time as well.
DiRusso’s interactivity with the crowd made the live experience more immersive; casually conversing with the audience as she tuned her guitars, soliciting jokes, and having most in the audience already knowing lyrics to all the new songs, even though they’re brand-new and have never been played live before (“ya’ll knew that one too!” she would say).
Stage-wise, there was a signpost at the back left saying “Back in Town” and a meadow-like backdrop taken from the album’s cover piicture (no back end of a horse though, but a mini-treadmill that may have been part of the show, was removed just prior).
After spinning a Kansas-based tale of upbringing (that sounded more and more familiar as it went, like a certain story about Dorothy and a witch), she then broke down laughing, saying the story would make for a good film as the band struck up “Good Ass Movie”.
Ahead of “Hungry” being played for the first time, she explained her songwriting periods dubbed “Party July” and “Angry October” and how those feelings dominated the themes of songs written during those times. The short “Leo” was written for her older brother, and she mentioned the Kansas City show at recordBar supporting her debut EP, was her very favorite show of that tour.
“I Am the Deer” is about surrendering to hook up with someone you probably shouldn’t and “Wearing Pants Again,” recorded in-studio with fellow Nashville producer/singer Ruston Kelly was slightly changed to be performed acoustic here.
“Emerson” is the name of the street she grew up on, and the song is about the nostalgia felt when visiting your childhood home-- she recently re-located back to NY, so it’s close by again, though DiRusso kept the Nashville “Y’all” in her dialect when speaking.
DiRusso recalled playing a show on campus three years ago as her first with a full band, and while playing her song, “Infinite Jest” was asked in the middle of it, what her ex-boyfriend’s name was. The crowd this night found out as well, and began chanting his name profanely.
DiRusso and band closed the main set with early hit, “Coming Soon”, complete with synchronized dance moves, then all collapsed to the floor – while most acts exit and re-enter for the encore, DiRusso and band just laid on the stage, like young toddlers that didn’t want to be at the store anymore.
They quickly jumped up to end things with “It’s Good To Be Hot In The Summer”, a song that starts softly but builds in volume and impact as she held an elongated note, emoting “No, I can’t run away this time” ever struggling but always seeing a glimmer of hope in some corner.
Between Annie DiRusso’s still exponentially growing fan base and her general adulation of playing shows in the Kansas City/Lawrence area, there’s no doubt she’ll be “Back in Town” again soon, but most likely in an even bigger venue.
ANNIE DIRUSSO at The Bottleneck- Lawrence KS (2025-03-24)
ANNIE DIRUSSO at The Bottleneck- Lawrence KS (2025-03-24)
ANNIE DIRUSSO at The Bottleneck- Lawrence KS (2025-03-24)
RAFFAELLA at The Bottleneck- Lawrence KS (2025-03-24)
| John C ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥X / twitter.com ♥ bsky.ap |
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