Words and Photos by Katherine Cardinale
Grace Enger brought her sold out its so fun tour to the Bowery Ballroom in New York City earlier this week, and it was an absolute blast! Grace is a 21-year-old singer-songwriter currently based in Los Angeles. She has been recording her own music since 2022, which is the same year she was awarded the Abe Olman Scholarship from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Since then, Grace has amassed over 5 million streams on her own music and worked with creatives such as Alexander 23, Dan Wilson, Ella Jane, and more. Her stop in New York marked a pivotal moment in her career for multiple reasons — she attended NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music (before dropping out to pursue music full-time), she is originally from Hoboken, New Jersey (so most of her family and friends were present at the show), and Bowery Ballroom is the largest capacity venue on her first ever headlining tour.
Fellow musician, collaborator, and friend of Grace’s, Jake Minch, opened the night with an acoustic set that was so positively received by the audience it became instantly clear that many audience members were present to see both musicians perform. Early into his set, Jake covered “Funeral” by Phoebe Bridgers, which elicited excitement throughout the whole venue from fans. He also mentioned that the first concert he went to as a young adult was Peter McPoland at Bowery Ballroom, and noted that it was a really surreal and cool experience to be playing the same stage and getting to see the green room. Fans knew the lyrics to many of the other songs he played, including “jessie” and “whose you are,” which was really heartwarming to see.
Grace and her band went on precisely at 9PM, and the crowds’ collective energy skyrocketed as soon as they walked on stage. The upbeat sound of the opening song, “Think I Wanna See You Again,” had everyone jumping around and dancing. After the song concluded, Grace immediately launched into “Ruin,” which is a deluxe track from her 2023 EP, Well Here We Are. Between songs, Grace took the time to thank the crowd, saying that them coming out to see her meant more than they would ever know. She also gave a shout out to her family standing in the balcony sections of the venue, and they eagerly cheered back at her in return. I really enjoyed getting to hear the stories and inspiration behind many of Grace’s songs, including “The Cut,” which was written in Grace’s old apartment located just one block away from Bowery Ballroom, and “imytn,” which is about a friend experiencing a breakup. One of the highlights of the set was when Grace invited Jake Minch back onstage to sing their collaboration, “Good Stuff.” Another exciting moment was Grace’s New York City date exclusive cover of Paramore’s hit single, “Still Into You.” Paramore is one of my all-time favorite bands, and I absolutely loved Grace’s acoustic rendition of the song! She followed it up with The Alchemist’s “A Year From Now,” which is my favorite song off the most recent EP.
Grace closed the night out with fan favorites “The Neighborhood” and “It’s No Fun.” Throughout the course of the night, it was extremely evident that Grace has built a strong community of fans that appreciate her ability to write incredible lyrics and her ever-evolving stage presence. Her success is a strong testament to her abilities as a musician and performer!
Loudspeaker Collective 