Brooklyn, New York - November 5, 2026
Avalon Emerson & the Charm took the stage without much fuss; Emerson stood behind her synth setup, joined by Hunter Lombard on guitar, Keivon Mehdi Hobeheidar on bass, and Nathan Pigott on saxophone. The stage setup was simple but effective: a strobe and lighting rig, paired with ever-changing projections cast directly onto the band. The band wore black, while Emerson stood out in a white top and platinum blonde hair.
As the oscillating synth filled the room, the familiar bass line of “Written into Changes”, the title track of her second studio album, rang out, and the show had begun. Over the next hour, the band took us on a genre-bending, head-bopping, sing-along, and at times downright groovy journey through their discography. The next song came from her debut album, & the Charm, her entry point into singer-songwriter dream pop from a background in techno and DJ-ing. Those techno influences are heavy and well handled, and they carried straight into “A Vision”, where hypnotic beats and an embellished bassline backed her reverberating vocals. Two songs in, Emerson paused to greet the crowd and gauge the mood, and concluded that we were all feeling great.
She then moved to the opening track of her newest album, “Eden”, which shows how far her lyricism has evolved. As orange and blue light spilled across the room, she sang its vivid, imagery-filled lines: “Rolling hills under falling water; Lingering over staying longer; When my moonlight is my day job; And my daylight is my night song; You're still my favorite place in Eden.” From there, the staccato strumming of the electric guitar led us into “How Dare This Beer”, while projections of a swarm of birds landed on her white shirt and swirled around her. The next few songs blended old and new, techno and pop, bright and melancholic: “I Don’t Want to Fight”, “Entombed in Ice” with its ethereal saxophone solo, “Wooden Star”, and “God Damn (Finito)”, which brought back the haunting bird projections.
From there, “Sandrail Silhouettes” took on a life of its own. It was punchier and edgier than the studio version, with deeper-kicking beats and Emerson’s voice given a techno-style treatment. Her cover of Oppenheimer Analysis’ “Don’t Be Seen with Me” followed a similar path, keeping the original melody, but her floating vocals, soft synth backing, and harmonic countermelody give it a sound Emerson fully owns.
Emerson then paused to chat with the crowd, touching on the recent primary elections before lamenting that this was the band’s last headline show for a little while. After a quick break, she launched into one of her most distinctive and recognizable songs, “Jupiter and Mars.” It plants itself firmly in indie dream pop, with lyrics that do as much of the heavy lifting as the catchy melodies. Emerson has a gift for building a visual world and approaching complicated ideas with swanlike grace, and the result is equal parts elegant and moody. Some of the ballad’s most poignant lines are these: “And in a lightyear or two down the line; When it all collapses on itself, folding time; And our dust finds each other in the thin; I’ll understand if you leave me again.”
As the projector cycled through scenes of deer, trees, and birds, all reminiscent of the Written into Changes album cover, Emerson played a few crowd favorites: “Hot Evening,” “Astrology Poisoning,” “Country Mouse,” and “Happy Birthday.” She closed out the night on the punchy beats of “A Dam Will Always Divide.”
Emerson’s new era is so compelling because it refuses to choose between dancefloor and daydream. Her show proved that the pull between techno and dream pop isn’t a tension to resolve but the very thing that makes her sound her own. Live, the techno edges sharpen, the vocals float higher, and the whole catalog becomes something more alive.
While Avalon Emerson & the Charm headline shows are on hold, you can find more of the dancefloor side of Emerson in her upcoming DJ sets.
