Austin, Texas - October 15, 2026
Rachel Bochner returned to Austin’s historic Hole in the Wall on Oct. 15 with her “Sorry if It’s Selfish Tour,” wearing her heart on her sleeve as if the crowd could hold it in their hands. Following the release of her recent album, I Guess A Sure Thing Couldn’t Go Down Gently, the NYC-based indie-pop rising star spoke with Off the Record before owning the stage.
Beneath pink and purple lights and before a room full of excited support, Bochner opened the evening with “Say That You Don’t,” a track from the album whose lyrics gave the “Sorry If It’s Selfish Tour” its name. The song set the tone for a night of dancing, yearning, reflection, and letting go. From there, she moved into the debut’s opener, “How Was I Supposed to Know?”, showcasing her strong vocals on a track she considers the best starting point for new listeners.
“I would say ‘How Was I Supposed to Know?’ is a solid jumping-off point,” Bochner said to Off the Record. “I’ve been really loving ‘Stupid!!!’ recently, too, because it’s my favorite to perform live. But at the same time, I recommend listening to the record in order if time permits; I think that’s the best way to take in the whole project.”
The set's intentionality reflected the world Bochner built on the record. An intimate clothesline stretched across the stage, holding the scarf that anchors the album’s artwork. “The album art was meant to evoke a white flag being held up,” said Bochner, explaining that it referenced both the line in “How Was I Supposed to Know?”--“my all white sad and bloody from the dog fight”--and “the surrender I believe this album feels like in a lot of ways.”
That surrender extended beyond the clothesline itself and into the night’s emotion. “Combining this white flag imagery with a clothing line stage setting also kind of references the white picket fence future I had to make peace with not wanting in the way it was laid out for me,” she said.
“I feel like all of this went from a really heavy, emotional writing process to just having a lot of fun with finishing the songs and making all the visuals,” Bochner said. “There were obviously emotional moments too, but it was this weird, contradictory experience of having songs that are sometimes hard to listen to, but then creating art around it, giving me such joy and fulfillment at the same time.”
Bochner gave the crowd a brief disclaimer before the next two songs. “In my opinion, these next two songs are two of the saddest on the record, so brace yourself for that.” The warning proved necessary as “Devil” and “Furniture” trace the aftermath of a recent relationship beyond a simple ending, but the slow, uneven work of getting through it. On “Devil,” Bochner speaks to a version of a person an ex-partner might construct upon a connection’s conclusion. The bridge turned a gentle reflection into a riveting catharsis as drummer Sierra’s building, driving beats beneath Bochner’s effortless falsetto pulled the room further into every word. “Furniture” was equally visual as its lyrics were visceral. Seated onstage, Bochner swayed back and forth, lost in the words as its meaning transformed the practical language of a breakup into a loss measured in objects and routines left behind.
Transitioning from heartache to nostalgia, Bochner dedicated the next section of the evening to revisiting previous works in her discography, beginning with her 2024 Lovergirl EP. “Groupie” and “Alchemical” offered a more upbeat turn, with audience members dancing along as Bochner sang about having a crush and its blissful possibilities. “Carolina Honey” slowed the set into a yearning-centric space, centered on the willingness to give in however necessary when crushing on someone. Bochner then looked to the audience to guide the set’s next move by passing a Magic 8 Ball, a recurring symbol throughout her new record, to a longtime fan. Its answer chose the next song to perform from her catalog, landing on “Ultraviolet” from her 2021 EP, 2 AM. The song’s moody, longing atmosphere earned a wave of cheers and applause after Bochner revealed it was the first song she allowed herself to write about a girl.
Bochner introduced her “very strong and very lovely” bandmates: drummer Sierra Leuschen and guitarist Rianna Kopcho, before diving into the dynamic “Your Manhattan,” each talent laid bare. As the night reached into its latter half, the room’s energy only grew as Bochner shifted the focus back to I Guess A Sure Thing Couldn’t Go Down Gently. It was clear why “Stupid!!!” had become her favorite song to perform live as she danced and jumped along, interacted with the crowd, and used every inch of the stage as if it were hers to take home. Leuschen’s ripping beats and Kopcho’s gritty riffs and wailing tone added to the song’s overall power.
Queer angst anthem “Collar” proved one of the evening’s strongest moments. Before singing, Bochner asked whether there were any gay people in the crowd, drawing whistles and loud cheers. Fully inhabiting the words as the hard-hitting yearning-forward lyricism returned, her voice moved through a beautiful lower register into higher flips with dainty subtlety before opening into an effortlessly smooth mixed voice. Some of Bochner’s strongest songwriting lives in her bridges, and “By Omission” took off of that same momentum, her vocal range remaining on full display as raspy belts bled into catchy melodies.
“Alright, Austin, this is your last chance to dance with me,” Bochner exclaimed before the chorus of “Happier You’re Gone.” Not a single soul remained still as the danceable pop bop closed out the main set, the energetic audience loudly singing along to “one track and idealistic / sucker for pretty women.” As Bochner exited, Leuschen and Kopcho kept the room’s attention, leaving the crowd hanging on their every note. Coming back out for the encore, “Fault Line” wrapped up the evening on a punchy, pop-rock-leaning high.
The evening made clear that Bochner’s strengths lie not only in her emotionally direct songwriting, but in her ability to turn private, delicate moments into something bigger and something shared. From the clothesline imagery, the Magic 8 Ball-guided detour, and a room full of people swaying and shouting along, Bochner transformed an intimate debut into a collective experience.
