by The Cowl Editor on September 30, 2021
Arts & Entertainment
Riley Coyne ’24
After being shut down for two long years, concert venues across the country are beginning to welcome back performers with open arms. When COVID-19 struck without warning, musicians who had tours planned for 2020 were forced to postpone or cancel them completely. Many artists, like the talented Chelsea Cutler, were in the middle of a tour when the pandemic hit and were unable to finish it the way they had hoped.
Now, after a bit of a hiatus, Cutler is back on tour. This time, however, she is touring with fellow artist Quinn XCII. The duo sold out more than half of the shows on their tour, including both nights at Radio City Music Hall in New York City as well as their show in Boston.
The Boston concert took place at Leader Bank Pavilion, a beautiful venue on the water that held roughly 5,000 attendees. The Pavillion is outdoors with plenty of concession stands readily available to satisfy the eager concert-goers. Tour-exclusive merchandise for both artists was sold at the venue as well.
The doors to the venue opened at 6:30 p.m. An hour later, the opening act took the stage. Tai Verdes, who rose to fame when his song “A-O-K” blew up on the social media platform TikTok, put on an engaging performance that had everyone on their feet. Then, at 8:20 pm, Chelsea Cutler came out and performed songs from her 2020 album, How to Be Human, as well as some of her older singles like “Your Shirt.”
Fans of Cutler are sure to speculate whether the subject of any of these songs could possibly be her girlfriend, Tilly Burzynski ’18. Regardless of whether this is the case, Providence College students will be interested to know that Burzynski is a PC alum, Class of 2018, and played ice hockey during her time in Friartown.
At 9:35 p.m., Quinn XCII took to the stage. During his set, he played some of his most famous songs like “Stacy” and “My Wife & 2 Dogs.” He also brought out special guest Ayokay to perform their collaborative song “Kings of Summer.” The song currently has almost 80 million streams on Spotify, and the crowd’s reaction when Ayokay walked out suggests that the artist will only grow in popularity from here on out.
One of the most notable aspects of this concert was the clear bond between its headliners. While both artists performed their own songs during their time on stage, the encore consisted of them coming together to perform songs that they collaborated on. Quinn XCII and Cutler are both under the same record label, EWG management, which could explain why the two have such a close relationship. It also explains why they have been able to make multiple songs together over the years. “Flare Guns,” “Little Things,” “Calling All Angels,” and “Stay Next to Me,” the track that their entire tour was named after, are some of their most popular collaborations.
Needless to say, the energy at this concert was contagious and the performers did not disappoint. That night, regardless of audience members’ age, appearance, and how good—or bad—their seats were, everyone was brought together by the power of Cutler, Quinn XCII, and their guests’ combined talents.