Annie Dirusso @ the Bluebird Theater

Annie Dirusso makes music that you can't help but blast when you're driving with the windows down, if you can actually drive. Now, take that feeling of carpool karaoke and alter it into concert form, and it's like you were at the Bluebird Theater last Wednesday. Known for her amazing songwriting and fabulous command of the stage, Dirusso is constructing the newest soundtrack for coming of age all across the world. 

Up and coming musician Raffaella, warmed up the crowd singing a handful of her own songs. The dress up theme for the show was mythological creatures, and an audience member wearing elf ears caught her eye. Thanks to the stranger, Raffaella was able to finally live out her fairy fantasy, placing the fake ears on top of her own elaborate in ear setup. She went frolicing about the stage, engaging with both herself and the crowd that she had immersed in her music. Her presence on stage was gentle, yet commanding, able to capture the attention of the crowd that was only just being introduced to her now. 

The cheers were boisterous as Annie and her band emerged on stage. She jumped straight into songs off her new debut album Super Pedestrian. There is always a buzz when you are at a show in a place that is mentioned in a song. “Six men, seven dogs circled up in a big garage / We talked as we pulled off the interstate in Colorado,” was sung powerfully by her devoted fans who have spent the last 3ish weeks since the release of the song, making sure they had the lyrics ready to go for showtime. Dirusso expressed her admiration of the crowd for getting the lyrics down in such a quick turnaround time, and the audience watched in awe, bursting with anticipation for what song was coming next. Dirusso has been releasing music since 2018 with the release of the track “Don’t Swerve”. Her song “Nine Months,” blew up on TikTok, and she has continued to continue her viral success with tracks like “Coming Soon,” and more recently, her single “Legs.” She played through most songs off her recent album, along with some deeper cuts like "Emerson" and "Hybrid" for the long-time fans. She proceeded to get vulnerable with the crowd, sharing a story from her childhood time spent in Denver. She dove into her relationship with her mother and the stupid boyfriend her mother was dragging around at the time, as she recalls a specific memory. After eating a meal at a local Chinese restaurant and exchanging fortune cookies with one another, a terrible feeling came over both her and her mother. When Annie woke up the next day, she looked down only to see that her once small and young hands had been replaced by 55 year old cracked and fragile ones. Sprinting to the mirror only to reveal she and her mother have SWITCHED BODIES! By this point most had gathered she was in fact talking about the 2003 classic, ‘Freaky Friday’ starring Lindsey Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, to introduce her song “Good Ass Movie”. Happy early April Fool’s to us letterbox users! Spectators on the barricade had proactively brought a copy of a good ass, but devastating, ‘The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ to share with Dirusso during the bridge where she lists out her favorite movies over the years. Through the show, Dirusso was cracking jokes and sharing actual bits of her life to keep the crowd engaged, as if she needed any help with that, making the show feel like both a concert and hilarious comedy set wrapped into one. The front most section was chock full of people passionately dancing and singing with their friends, that captivated the attention of the performers. Dirusso kept sharing energy with a specific group of fans that were having the most incomparable experience.

It takes a special crowd to know the words to almost every song and dance hard all night as we sure found them. Annie is an exceptional performer with energy that some people would dream to bring to the stage. She has been to Colorado before and she will definitely be back after having such a special show, stay tuned to her socials for future show announcements and good ass music coming soon.