We Went There: Grace Ives at the 7th Street Entry
Artist: Grace Ives, Whu Else
I first stumbled onto Grace Ives somewhere around 2019 or 2020 – “Mirror” and “Babyyy” became my first obsessions into Grace’s bedroom pop world. Both songs were sub-2 minute bits of pop, straight to the point and done before you even knew it. Her music has grown over the last few years, from my favorite record of 2022 Janky Star to this year’s Girlfriend – the songs and sounds have evolved with her. After missing a 2022 show where she opened for Remi Wolf, last night was my first Grace Ives live experience.
The room Wednesday night was sold out and packed with plenty of others even more excited than me. The Entry’s 250 cap is a little smaller than some of the rooms on the rest of this tour, which lent itself to a big energy all night.
Opener Whu Else immediately made me think of a 2026 Detroit hip hop influenced update of what Atom And His Package did decades earlier – unique, playful synths and lyrics that hit on the serious and comical, sometimes within the same song. The set charmed the crowd for about 30 minutes and was out.
Then Grace and her duo hit the stage. She mentioned mid-set that she usually plays by herself, which landed as a nice reframe for what we were watching. The live drums especially propelled the songs past their studio versions and kept the energy high all night – the whole set had a looseness and vitality that the recordings, good as they are, can’t fully replicate. From opener “Avalanche” to the encore of “Stupid Bitches,” new songs were mixed with a sampling of everything all the way back to those 2019 tracks, including a back-to-back “Mirror” and “Babyyy” that both landed with a whole new energy. Fan favorites like “Shelly” and “My Mans” brought the crowd to near screaming, with a chorus of “we love you”s between songs.
The whole show felt like an artist about to break large playing a slightly too-small room. We were lucky to see it before the next level hits.
Setlist: Avalanche / Dance With Me / Icing on the Cake / Drink Up / Trouble / Fire 2 / Now I’m / Shelly / My Mans / Mirror / Babyyy / Neither You Nor I / What If / Garden / Lullaby – Encore: Stupid Bitches
Full Photo Set Here
