Mirah in Providence 5/2

May 3, 2026

This is largely going to be a love letter to Mirah, because while this was a festival and I saw five other acts, it was a TEENY TINY SMALL FESTIVAL. I don't need to critique every performance and their artistic presentation. It was not that kind of place. I enjoyed literally every band and thought they did great. I had fun. After the first two I turned to my husband and said "Any of these bands could have opened for the concerts we've been to and it would have been better than who we saw. There is no shortage of music. Why have we seen so many bad bands?"

I spent a lot of time in my teens around small bands and small shows where everyone was just there for the love of the game and yesterday reminded me of that so much. It was nice.

The Venue

I had never heard of AS220, but they seem really neat! I'm upset that we don't seem to really have similar spaces in Boston, but then again I have always been surprised that the local music space feels so dead here. Something about the economy? Something about how young people come here for college and then immediately get priced out or have to work their soulless little jobs to stay in? Something about how building community is hard and maybe I should look into how I can help foster it myself? I don't know.

Anyway. Providence Pop Fest. We got tickets to the earlier show which was twenty whole dollars a person. They held that session in Black Box which is, you guessed it, literally a room painted black which is probably roughly the size of the first floor of my tiny ass house. The website says that it has a capacity of 90. There is no stage. They didn't oversell the space so I was comfortable the whole time. I'd go again if someone I really liked was playing. I probably wont go back just to see what's going on because, you know, the hour travel time.

I thought it was going to be quiet and we'd have seats. Nope! It was crank the music directly into your chest loud. Keep your Loops on you at all times, kids. I'm glad I did because I stood like two feet from a speaker.

The Show

Other Acts

Sun Urchins
Anna Altman
Beachplums
Emotional World
Mick Trouble

Mirah

I can vividly remember the first time I heard Cold Cold Water on my Pandora station in 2009 when I was 18. The song crawled into my head and has lived there ever since. I don't expect people to watch most of the videos that I post here because this is largely for me, but if you're reading I urge you to stop what you're doing and spend five minutes experiencing this song.

This song will forever feel like young adulthood to me. Her whole album Advisory Committee does, really. Her new album Dedication feels like a sister album to Advisory Committee to me. The sound is different, but we're all different when we get older.

The Setlist

Girl, I don't know. It's not on setlist.fm. So I pulled a recent show and am listing the songs that I know I heard from it.

The Ballad of the Bride of Frankenstein (She definitely opened with this, the rest of the order I am unclear on.)
To Me
After the Rain
Beginning of Time
Catch My Breath
Do You See Me
Mama Me (She mentioned that the past two weeks of the tour was the longest she's been away from her seven year old and it made this song feel so much sweeter to me.)
New Jersey Turnpike
Mt. St. Helens (I can't remember if I heard this or just FEEL like I heard this because I love Advisory Committee so much.)
Hallelujah (Thao & Mirah song)

Impression

I paid twenty dollars to sit five feet from Mirah while she played the bulk of her new album. It was such a special time. And yes, I was sitting. She said we could sit if we wanted and after standing for hours on concrete most people sat their ass down. It was great. Immaculate vibes. I hope she could feel how much I loved her without me dancing.

She sounded as perfect live as I expected. My husband has a newfound appreciation for her and Gets It now. 10/10 perfect experience for me.

I'd be remiss if I didn't show you the burger that I got at The Malted Barley immediately afterwards. Because while it was not part of the show, it was part of my perfect night. And was sufficiently gluten free so I didn't get sick despite the restaurant name being very scary for a celiac.

In my defense, I tend to treat red meat like alcohol and try not to keep it in the house but allow it As A Treat. So burgers are exciting.

May one of your favorite artists play a dirt cheap show under five minutes from a burger joint this year. ♥