Louis Tomlinson brings the heat on an already scorching day in Charlotte, NC (Skyla)

Fan girl level reached new heights in the photopit at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre

The weather was set to help us soft boil under the Charlotte sun while we duked it out through some bands to get to the headliner. Luckily it evened out heat wise and this show was not that kind of bore fest.

In fact, I have to admit, I was so impressed by some of the band’s performances it was hard to not have them be the headliner. Each day a pieces of different music needs to satiate the soul, tonight we quenched pop, indie, and alternative.

Opener Andrew Cushin looks all of twelve, sorry it’s true, but do not let the looks be deceiving his song catalog is diverse enough hat you get a little relatable almost love ballad, down to a little shimmy, and I swore at one time I could feel a huge Paul Wellar influence.

His deep lyricism is refreshing and when you open up on the mic his silky vocals blow out the sweet and innocent look.

With the way, he writes a dreamy hook, works for the crowd with sly smiles…

Hyping them at the right times and digging into new songs that still make the crowd instantly be able to sing the hook back. That is a sophistication in songwriting.

Two weeks ago Andrew released his new single “It’s Coming Round Again,” the latest off his forthcoming debut album out this Fall.

You can pre-order his debut album ‘Waiting for the Rain here: https://andrewcushin.tmstor.es/

Look forward to seeing him again sometime soon.

Andrew Cushin Setlist Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC, USA 2023

Edit this setlist | More Andrew Cushin setlists

We even got a little more than what we bargained for after his set. Us togs mosey on back to the VIP section to wait for the next performance and suffer just terribly in the air conditioning and close proximity to the ice cold drinks (scoffs in sarcasm) while starting at our cameras to eagerly see what magic we just captured on film. Well pseudo-film, faux film if you will, and we get a “Hello ladies,” while Andrew and his keyboardist just saunter on by not worrying about a thing.

It was kind of one of those moments, I snuck a peek but again I was editing at the time no chance to change the manual settings. 😉

During this time I decided to get to know the peeps behind the lens that were here tonight to capture this show. All badass females in some rank, some much further in our career, and some very friendly and eager to learn. It’s what I love about what we do as photojournalist and why I’ve kept at it all these decades later. I snapped a cell shot, and pretty much after we heard Giant Rooks had already ripped into their set.

We then booked it to the pit to catch this magnanimous show! The stage was set with keyboards, drums close enough you could actually see drummer Finn Thomas.

There was another steel drum front stage that Rabe banged on a lot, a-la the band Fun came to mind though he did this his own way. My mind went there happily and with the spunk behind the performance, it is nothing but a compliment meant. I heard traits of Set it Off, The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, White Stripes, and The Struts, all sprinkled into their sounds but all of it came out their own.

Hearing about them and experiencing them is a whole other thing. While on the recordings they are stellar, in person you add the element of connective crowd work, overt swagger, and sultry gender-bending sexuality.

Charismatic lyricism is laced with pristine chords, chunky beats, and keys. Lead vocalist and second percussionist Frederik Rabe is a show unto himself. Dressed in a lacey number of perfectly quaffed hair with a smile to open up the pearly gates of heaven you are drawn into his enigmatic flow. I immediately likened him to Mick Jagger. Yes, swagger like sir Mick.

The quality of rock ballads was ace. It was a very fun time and I’ll keep the fun reference going to anyone who remembers the band. While the night was not over Giant Rooks took my favorite performance of the night. It’s just more my liking for the music and the charisma oozing from every pore that made me a sucker for them. I am a fool for deep lyrics, musicians you can see are having the absolute time of their lives, and when I can sing a hook the first time I have heard a song, that kind of writing. GR and Andrew Cushin are on the same bill planning mastery at its finest.

If you are a fan of alternative indie rock with clean vocals a very Brit invasion-esque (though they are German) please seek them out..

They are currently out with Louis for two weeks, then back on a headlining tour, and in between that look at this itinerary!

Festival rotation:

Lollapalooza Festival Chicago
Fest Festival
Heitere Open Air
Open Flair Festival
Sziget Festival
Gampel Open Air
MS Dockville
Highfield Festival
Pukkelpop Festival
Leeds Festival
Reading Festival
Bruis Festival
Superbloom Festival
Corona Capital

There were air guitars. Jumps dancing, shaking heads. Double drums and their drummer is absolutely badass! I just loved watching him play and be silly.

I’m glad he was close enough on stage that we could see him, not the regular drummer setups.

Their new single “Somebody Like You” is out August 4th.

The headliner of the night really needs no introduction he’s been blasted through your radio and TV screens for decades now. Originally as one of the members of One Direction and like many others, he set out on a successful solo career that led him to a muggy time in Charlotte last night.

We were held side stage right until he descended upon the stage. When we made it into the photopit He walked on grabbed the mic and in ten seconds Pyro was popping on the stage which surprisingly didn’t go off I think again in the times we were there to watch him play. The crowd was ear-deafening with the shrieks of how adorable this man is.

His band was set on different tears and looked to be having the time of their life. The hits kept on hitting, at different points in the show Louis would hit each end of the stage and reach toward the fans. During the set, he took time to bring the house down a bit and sat on down on the stage legs dangling to give the crowd a bit more of an intimate feel.

The two screens on stage on each side always found their way to land on his face so you could see what his facial expressions were and the beautiful moment was when all the tiny pride flags were being waved at once. The unity of a music community is precious.

The set list flew through a deluge of decades and sounds, even when the show had to be paused for an emergency about halfway through the set. We heard One Direction songs, and we heard an Arctic Monkey Cover, but of course, the set was heavy into the album the tour was named after.

If you are a fan of One Direction or not there was a song you could find to attach to.

No good pop show is over unless there is a mass exodus of streamers and confetti thrown on the crowd, signs that will be left to the trash gods, and again there was no disappointment here.

If you are a fan it’s a show to see and if you aren’t a fan it’s a fun experience to have I enjoy the set, the company, and learning about some new upcoming music and tours I cannot wait to attend.