UPSAHL brought her epic tour to Philly with WizTheMC and our photographer & writer Emily Cohen couldn’t get enough. Arizona native UPSAHL released a new mixtape, her first volume of The PHX Tapes featuring two new songs before setting out on her US headlining tour with WizTheMC. UPSAHL says of the new mixtape release:
“I had been writing so many songs since the beginning of the year and started sharing them with friends the way I shared music when I was a kid growing up in Phoenix. Sort of like how mixtapes used to be passed around,” UPSAHL continues, “This release is different from my past releases because there was no specific purpose during my writing process. I feel so free in making music right now, and everything I’m creating feels like an experiment. There are no boundaries, no genres, no lines that I am too scared to cross.” – UPSAHL on The PHX Tapes
UPSAHL brought her headlining tour to Philly, playing upstairs at The Foundry at The Fillmore with WizTheMC as her support. Our writer and photographer Emily Cohen was able to capture the magic:
Upstairs at The Foundry at The Fillmore Philadelphia a crowd began to form as the
opening act WizTheMC began his set. I’ll be honest, I had not heard of this 24 year old South African-German rapper before he came bursting on stage. Dressed in all white with a pearl choker, WizTheMC with his DJ Rob Tirea instantly captured the audience.
This was Wiz’s first time in America, let alone in Philadelphia; I think we gave him a solid impression of our city. His bouncy performance was matched by his catchy beats and hooks and background musical accompaniment, switching seamlessly between rapping and impressive singing. His music is reminiscent of Citizen Cope. WizTheMC may be young, but he has been performing since 2015 and his stage presence showed it. Throughout his 30 minute set, Wiz talked with ease as he interacted with the crowd, as introduced himself and his songs, even taking selfies with the crowd with their phones. He finished his set with a raving review of our city, “Thank you so much, I had a fucking blast, Philly. I will definitely be back.” And I will definitely be adding him and his THREE studio albums to my Spotify rotation and telling all my friends to do the same.
WizTheMC in Philadelphia at The Foundry at The Fillmore Photos by Emily Cohen
Up next came the girl from Arizona who the crowd had come out for, UPSAHL, on her First Headlining Tour. First on stage were her guitarist and drummer dressed in matching white coveralls popping under the moody lighting. They started the chords to the first song of the night and as the crowd grew louder, (Taylor) Upsahl, boomed onto the stage and right into a non-stop hour long sing-along with a very enthusiastic crowd. Her classical music training was evident throughout the entire set, her vocal range was beautiful and rang throughout The Foundry as her adoring fans took it all in.
While she was very interactive with the crowd, she didn’t talk so much with the crowd, just back to back music, but one time she did pause to say “Hi” and “Thank you” to some fans she recognized from her previous show in Philadelphia in 2022. Mid set UPSAHL surprised the crowd with a mashup of No Doubt’s “Spiderwebs” and Harry Styles’ “Late Night Talking”, doing both songs proud. After a full 60 minute set, the band left the stage, but their fans weren’t done with them yet, chanting “UPSAHL” and “ENCORE” and the band happily obliged, gracing their fans with a rousing 3 more songs. Even with the encore, I hadn’t gotten enough, so I drove home from the concert with UPSAHL on my speakers. I honestly can’t wait to tell everyone about the amazing new artists I saw last night.
UPSAHL in Philadelphia at The Foundry at The Fillmore Photos by Emily Cohen:
Catch both artists on the rest of their tour! They will be in NYC tonight!
UPSAHL on tour:
MAY 5 FRI – Racket NYC – New York, NY, United States
MAY 6 SAT Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA, United States
MAY 8 MON – Velvet Underground – Toronto, ON, Canada
MAY 9 TUE – El Club – Detroit, MI, United States
MAY 10 WED – A&R Music Bar – Columbus, OH, United States
MAY 11 THU – Hi-Fi @ – Indianapolis, IN, United States
JUN 4 SUN – Stone Pony Summer Stage – Asbury Park, NJ, United States (with Fletcher)
JUN 9 FRI – Rock for People – Hradec, Czechia
JUN 10 SAT – PULS Open Air 2023 – Geltendorf, Germany
JUN 11 SUN – Nochtspeicher – Hamburg, Germany
JUN 12 MON – Rust – Copenhagen, Denmark
JUN 14 WED – Nalen – Stockholm, Sweden
JUN 16 FRI – Bergenfest 2023 – Bergen, Norway
JUN 18 SUN – Pinkpop 2023 – Landgraaf, Netherlands
JUN 20 TUE – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO, United States (with Oliver Tree)
AUG 6 SUN – Lollapalooza – Chicago, IL, United States
AUG 13 SUN – Outside Lands Festival 2023 – San Francisco, CA, United States
SEPT 5 TUE – Palace – St Paul, MN ( with Tove Lo)
SEPT 6 WED – Salt Shed – Chicago, IL (with Tove Lo)
SEPT 8 FRI – Royal Oak – Detroit, MI (with Tove Lo)
SEPT 10 SUN – Pier 17 – New York NY (with Tove Lo)
SEPT 14 THU – The Anthem – Washington, D.C. (with Tove Lo)
SEPT 15 FRI – The Atlantis – Washington, D.C. (with Tove Lo)
Keep up with Mylifeinsound:
