Sarah Kinsley :: Charlotte Rose Benjamin
Vivarium, Milwaukee WI
April 10, 2025
Photos and Review by Kelsie Barlow
On April 10th, 2025, Sarah Kinsley took the stage at Vivarium in Milwaukee with the support of Charlotte Rose Benjamin. Fans arrived early at the venue to claim their spots in the crowd for an unforgettable night of music, dancing, and palpable joy.
Charlotte Rose Benjamin took the stage first with a fun 90βs look and indie-twang sound. For her first-ever show in Milwaukee, she played a variety of songs including βCelebrity Wax Museumβ from her 2024 album Moth Mouth. Benjamin, who is turning 29 in 2 weeks, said that this song was about being 27 years old, an experience that any member of the audience could feel through the reflective melodies. Charlotte informed the audience that she would be available to meet by the merch table after Sarah Kinsleyβs set and that she would be selling a limited amount of hand-bedazzled eye masks made by her and her mom. Towards the end of her set, Charlotte played one of her most streamed songs, βSlot Machineβ. The bright guitar riffs and relaxed vocals made this song an earworm that was easy for the crowd to bop along to.
Sarah Kinsley took the stage next, playing her first headline show in Milwaukee. The audience erupted with excited cheers as Kinsley began her set with a medley of upbeat songs including βLovegodβ. The dreamy synthesizers and hypnotic piano combined with her ethereal vocals give her a unique and memorable sound. Her energy was commanding and magnetic from the second she took the stage as she used the entire space to dance and engage the audience.
Slowing things down, Kinsley played the Lana Del Rey-esque βStarlingβ, a song that pays homage to platonic love. ββ¦Friendship is the reason weβre aliveβ¦β Kinsley said. During this song, fans participated in a project where they held up paper stars to their phone flashlights, making the crowd look like a beautiful night sky. Kinsley was touched by this gesture and followed it up with two fun surprises for the audience. Her first surprise was covering one of her favorite songs, βKiss Meβ, by Sixpence None The Richer. Before revealing the second surprise, Kinsley played βSublimeβ, a bright song with a boppy melody on the synthesizerβthe joy in the room was discernible. Fans energetically danced as she sang βOh, life would be so easyβ¦Oh, life would be sublimeβ¦β Her second surprise was playing βLonely Touchβ, a new unreleased song that had only been played live two times before the Milwaukee show. This song introduced a new sound that was reminiscent of an 80βs pop song with some deeper vocals.
Sarah βfinishedβ the show with the title track of her 2024 album Escaper. Sarah and her band left the stage after this song and waited for fans to cheer and pick up the energy of the room before returning for the encore. The show concluded with Kinsley playing two of her most popular songs, βThe Kingβ and βOh No Darling!β The music of Sarah Kinsley inspires feelings of happiness and hope in her fans and that energy vibrated throughout Vivarium, even after Kinsley took her final bow.
