Words and Photos by Katherine Cardinale
This past week, New York City’s Brooklyn Bowl welcomed mxmtoon and Katherine Li for an exciting evening in a unique venue space. Brooklyn Bowl is a music venue, bowling alley, and restaurant all in one, making it the perfect place to host an intimate yet enthralling concert. This particular stop is part of mxmtoon’s liminal space tour, which is wrapping up tonight in Pennsylvania.
mxmtoon is an American singer-songwriter, Twitch streamer, and Youtuber whose music is both fun and confessional and is identifiable by her inclusion of the ukulele in many of her songs. She rose to prominence with her song “prom dress,” which went viral on TikTok in late 2019 and acted as the lead single for her debut album, The Masquerade. Since then, mxmtoon has released two more albums and two EPs, as well as toured with artists such as Cavetown and the AJR brothers.
After Katherine Li opened the night with a set featuring original songs like “Isn’t It Obvious” and “So Embarrassing,” as well as a cover of “One That Got Away” by Katy Perry, mxmtoon took the stage. Her positive energy, combined with her engaging performance, made for an intimate and heartwarming experience. Early into her set, she commented on the venue’s uniqueness, much to the amusement of fans. She also explained that many of the songs she was performing throughout the night would be reimagined versions of their original recordings; however, she kept “prom dress” the same in order to honor its popularity. Some of the highlights included the mention of New York during “i hate texas” and the encore, “dance (end of the world),” which is featured on her 2022 project, rising.
On April 15, mxmtoon is embarking on the European leg of her tour with support from rising pop artist Bea and Her Business, so be sure to grab your tickets now!
Loudspeaker Collective 