After leaving us waiting in anticipation for fifteen minutes after the end of Lizzy McAlpine’s set, dodie finally took the stage, emerging from behind a large black curtain with lots and lots of ambiant fog. I snapped this picture right before she ran to the front of the stage to bask in the concert glow and our roaring applause.

Lizzy McAlpine: dodie’s opener. Lizzy played singles from her upcoming album, like “doomsday” and “all my ghosts,” along with some of the songs which put her on the map, like “Apple Pie” and “Pancakes for Dinner.” Lizzy created a really great casual atmosphere with the audience, playing on just two acoustic guitars and even pulling out a camcorder to record us for one of her tour vlogs. She played for about an hour, and though we were sad to see her set end, we were super excited to see dodie begin!

dodie’s show was profoundly meaningful to me. I’ve connected with her music since eleven years old, and it’s always been a dream of mine to see her preform live. Her show was so intimate, thanks to, in part, her smaller backing band. They translated her beautifully grandiose recording tracks into something more familiar and soft-spoken, which kept the spirit of each original song (which are typically acoustic, and posted to dodie’s YouTube channel) and recorded track (which feature larger, more dramatic backing tracks).

Our seats (or “stands” since we never sat down) for the show were incredible. We were seated right in front of the stage, and had several moments where it seemed that dodie was singing right to us. Their demeanor throughout the concert drew me in, as I expected it would, and I didn’t even want to pull myself out of the experience to take photos, especially when they were right in front of me! (that’s why a lot of these photos are from fellow editor Max)

This part of the concert was undoubtedly the part which affected me the most. dodie began this section with a little crowd banter, saying that this was her favorite part of the show because she got to say whatever she wanted. Then, she began a sweet medley of almost every song in her discography, including some of my favorites that never got a professional release, like Freckles and Constellations, and my personal favorite song of hers, Ready Now (which she sadly did not perform in full). She went straight from this “Sad Song Mashup” into Sick of Losing Soulmates. I lost it immediately. Lots of tears.

dodie’s set design was beautiful. Minimalistic yet profound, it (temporarily) featured some bedroom furniture set against the colored light background and “dodie” neon sign. dodie jumped on, ran around, and generally interacted with these furniture sets, which added an element of familiarity and humor to her “sadville” (self-described) section of the show.

Along with their wonderful backing band, dodie also played their own accompaniment. dodie got their start on youtube, singing their own original songs in their bedroom and playing each instrument individually. Throughout the show, dodie called back to these roots, where they played guitar, ukulele, clarinet, and drums in select songs!

During the final non-encore song of the show, In The Middle, dodie and her accompanists Pete Daynes and Orla Gartland performed an energetic dance which matched the vibe of the song perfectly. It was a great way to end a night of singing, dancing, and pouring my heart out along with dodie and the whole audience.

This shot is a wide-lens look at dodie, her accompanists, and the whole crowd. If you look in the bottom left corner, you can see Max and I! Overall, the show was incredible. I loved each moment of it, the tears, the laughs, and the dancing.

Just a cute look at Max and I’s outfits. They sported a green floral mini-dress with a vintage leather jacket and cowboy boots, whereas I rocked a purple-marble puff sleeve dress with frilly socks and my white sneakers. Everyone’s outfits at this show were super cute, and really showed how diverse dodie’s audience is.

Max and I did our makeup to include dodie’s signature “dodie dots,” which are small dots of eyeliner just underneath the eye. Mine were gone by the end of the show, washed away by tears, but Max’s still looked pretty good!

A shot of the historic Ryman Auditorium. One of the most celebrated venues of modern music, this auditorium got its start as a church, and is still characterized by stained glass windows and stunning wooden pews. It was a beautiful venue and did a great job of showcasing dodie’s intimate set.