Madison Cunningham opened Thursday night brilliantly with a punchy set by her electric trio. The LA singer-songwriter and her bandmates put stunning musicianship on display, cutting up new and even unreleased material.
One highlight was the intricate “Pin It Down” from her 2019 debut Who You Are Now, along with new single “Anywhere,” which built to Cunningham’s most ecstatic belting of the night. Her voice kept a gorgeous clarity, even when she’d bend and twist it like elastic over these wiry percussion grooves; her guitar parts blew me away too, both with a pick and labyrinthine fingerstyle. Broken phrases and knotty chord progressions pulled me in, like a meeting of Laura Marling and Radiohead – Cunningham also covered “No Surprises” on her EP Wednesday this year, plus songs by Tom Waits, Rufus Wainwright, The Beatles and more.
Last I saw Madison Cunningham was my last NONCOMM! In a beautiful set with Andrew Bird, which I’ll link here, just months before her debut dropped. Her set tonight compels me to revisit that 2019 record, as I hope you do too.
Find photos below. Cunningham’s tour of Europe begins Tuesday, and she returns for US dates in June!