I arrived at Webster Hall on November 18th to a line wrapped around the block. It was the night of Charlotte Lawrence’s NYC stop on the Navy Blue Tour, and the 40- degree weather with intense wind and rain clearly didn’t stop her devoted fans. Doors opened, the venue began to fill up, and before I knew it, the opener, Goody Grace, was performing. He’s a pop-punk artist (with a song featuring Blink-182) that I hadn’t heard of before the show, but have had on repeat for the weeks since. He connected with the crowd and even had some diehard fans present, but when the lights went out before Charlotte came onstage. Everyone went absolutely insane.
With her bright pink hair and enviable sparkly pants, Charlotte looked every bit the pop star. She went right into her recently-released banger “Why Do You Love Me,” much to the delight of the fans, who screamed every lyric right back at her. The pulsating beat and catchy lyrics are nearly impossible to NOT dance. I’ve been to two of Charlotte’s shows now. I am always amazed by how much of a natural she is. She connects with her fans on a level that few others do, sharing anecdotes, making jokes, ”there are a lot of dads here right now saying ‘who the fuck is this girl and why does she keep cursing” and singing into iPhone cameras. As if that wasn’t enough- she climbed down onto the barricade multiple times, grabbing hands and serenading directly in people’s faces.
(From when she sang directly in MY face)
Charlotte then moved on to a few of her older songs and classic bops, including “Stole Your Car,” “I Bet,” and “Young and Reckless.” A unique characteristic of some of her discography is its tendency to have a pop sound with a dark twist and personal lyrics, like in “Keep Me Up.” Then the dance party slowed down a bit as she sang ballads. “You” is an unreleased track that was particularly beautiful and showcased the stunning vocal control Charlotte has. “Sin X Secret” was a stripped-down tune that perfectly transitioned back into the more upbeat ones. I cannot WAIT for her to release “Cowboys-” it has become one of my absolute favorites of hers, and I know it will race up the charts. Charlotte’s newest number, “God Must Be Doing Cocaine,” which she has said is a societal commentary; “I don’t think everybody should be addicted to their phones and technology and stop living their lives and getting so much plastic surgery… so my whole point of the song is kind of like, ‘Hey, man, if you’re up there – what are you doing? Why aren’t you helping us out? Is this supposed to happen? Are you mad at us? What’s going on?’ So I created the metaphor that [God] must be doing cocaine.” She also references the school shooting epidemic in the U.S. in the lyrics “I drove my brothers to school yesterday, who’s gonna make sure they’re safe? Feels like sometimes he goes missing for days, God must be doing cocaine.”
As soon as the last note of her closer, “Sleep Talking,” ended, I was already missing the show. I left the concert hungry, tired, and slightly dehydrated- which, as any avid concert-goer knows, are the signs of a good concert- but what was I expecting from a show that Kaia Gerber, Pete Davidson, Hoodie Allen, and Ashley Benson attended? On top of that, I had tagged her in my Instagram story videos of the concert and woke up the next morning to find that she had watched all of them- which goes to show how much she cares about her fans. Charlotte Lawrence puts on some of my favorite shows, and I’m already looking forward to her next tour. Listen to her music on Apple Music, Spotify, or YouTube and follow her on Instagram (@charlotteslawrence) to stay tuned for new stuff!