Ashnikko has The Anthem in DC literally quaking with hot, witchy vibes

If you’re not hip to Ashnikko, you’re doing it wrong 

The epitome of bad bitch. Empowering, Queen, weird (in the best way), bold and beautiful. I’m talking about Ashnikko, of course. Tonight she’s playing at The Anthem in Washington DC and I’ve been blessed with media credentials to review the show. I’m psyched to say the least. 

North Carolina born alternative princess Ashnikko just recently released a new album, Weedkiller. The 13 track record is a bumpin blend of emotions, mostly big baddie vibes though. Listen if you haven’t yet, by the way. You won’t regret it. 

I came into this show a big Ashnikko fan but I hadn’t seen her live yet. I settle into the photo pit at The Anthem and chit chat with a super polite staff member, Emma, while I wait for the show to get started. Audrey Nuna is the supporting act this evening, but before she goes on she has a DJ take the stage to get the crowd hyped for her appearance. A perfect medley of emo and pop was played, and though it was a brief set, it was a banger. The goal was met, the audience was totally vibing. 

Audrey’s DJ announces her and suddenly she rushes the stage and jumps right into her song, “IdgaF”. She’s wearing a black and white photo patterned trench coat underneath a beige cargo vest. She’s also rocking white butterfly patterned fishnets and the best part about her get up, crocs. Hell yeah dude, if you ain’t crocin’ you ain’t rockin’. Hate them all you want but they’re so comfy and I really love that she’s wearing them onstage. 

Nuna darts back and forth across the massive stage, shimmying and whipping her lengthy black braids around as she works through her set. At one point, Audrey slows things down a little bit and has the crowd light up the venue with their cell phone flashlights. I can’t for the life of me remember the title of the song this happened during because honestly, I was captivated by how beautiful the whole scene was. I’ll admit I wasn’t super familiar with her music prior to this but there was one song that I had heard before and actually liked so much that I listened to pretty frequently. That song is “damn right” and Audrey happened to wrap her set with it. 

The song absolutely slaps and it was the perfect song to leave off on to further hype the crowd for Ashnikko. There was a bit of an extended gap between sets, you know how these things go. Sometimes things just run behind, but the crowd didn’t seem to care. Everyone was chatting and moving around the venue to grab drinks and socialize.

Let’s talk about the audience for a second. Of course, there’s a variety of genders and types of people there. However, primarily I’m seeing tons of hot girls who are dressed even hotter. YAS QUEENS.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I can confidently say that it is super gay in The Anthem this evening. 

The lights dim and the crowd goes f*cking nuts. The long awaited arrival of Ashnikko to the stage is finally upon us. I rush to center stage and stand on my tippy toes (hey, I’m 5’3” and this stage is kinda tall) as the stage lights begin to strobe. Suddenly, there she is. Ashnikko! She’s joined by two beautiful dancers and they waste no time getting into their incredibly choreographed performance. 

“You Make Me Sick!” is the opening song and if I’m being honest, it’s tough to focus on photographing right now. Ashnikko and her dancers are stunningly gorgeous and you can tell they spent hours practicing their dancing. They’re moving flawlessly in unison along to the beat, dressed in distressed clothing that there’s not a whole lot of. Seriously, wow. 

One of my favorite songs plays while I’m in the photo pit, titled “STUPID”. It’s a real hot girl anthem, the song has been described as a venomous and snide dismissal of men. Honestly, that’s spot on and a big part of why I like it so much. My last photo pit song is “Working Bitch”, another favorite of mine and it’s perfectly timed. 

“I’m working, bitch. Ain’t got no time for dick, you wish you could sway my attention.”

I exit the pit and make my way to the balcony to continue photographing and enjoying the show. I was extremely lucky this evening to be granted permission to photograph the whole show so I’m taking full advantage of getting tons of angles and capturing the gorgeous light work of this performance. I hustle up the stairs and find a row of unoccupied seats front and center so I relax a little, camera still out, though. 

The stage has huge inflatables on either side that are strangely shaped, I think they’re weeds. They’re white and glow whatever color the lights behind them beam onto them, it’s one of my favorite things visually during the whole show. Ashnikko performs a song from Weedkiller called “Chokehold Cherry Python”, and this is when I realize just how feral this crowd is. The venue was SHAKING, and it was not solely from the bass. This 6000 capacity building was nearly sold out and I swear every person in that place was jumping together to this song. It made my heart race in the best way. 

I’m firing away through the rest of the set, the lighting is truly enchanting paired with Ashnikko’s stellar stage presence and energy. Before I know it, “Daisy” starts to play and she says it’s her last song. It’s bittersweet because I truly feel I could sit there all night watching her captivate the entire room. That is until I stood up and running around The Anthem all evening quickly caught up with me. I head downstairs to grab a tour t-shirt and the crowd starts to funnel out of the front doors. Demidevils flood out into The Wharf and literally cause a traffic jam. So many baddies walking around that traffic started to back up. Ashnikko would have been proud. 

The US leg of the Weedkiller Tour is not over! Ashnikko has a few more east coast dates before she hits the west coat. She also just announced a Europe and UK leg! 

Listen to Ashnikko’s new album, Weedkiller, here! You can also check out Audrey Nuna by clicking here.

See the Full Gallery of the Night Here!

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see. 

Click Here for Tickets and Tour Information!