06.09.23 – Photos by Jessica Fredette / Review by McKenna Klaphake

On Friday, June 9th the historic Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota hosted Oregon bred indie pop trio, Joseph, with opener Sawyer. The venue was an interesting choice for the show as it was seated and didn’t have the room that usually comes with a general admission venue. I feel like it definitely took away some of the energy, especially during Sawyer’s set when everyone remained seated. However, the show was sold out and you could tell that the audience was excited for the performances that lay ahead of them. 

The Nashville based duo, Sawyer consists of Kel Taylor and Emma Harvey. The two started their set with a firm handshake after walking on stage. The fun and outgoing presence that the two shared was palpable from the beginning. In addition to the two performers interchanging between multiple instruments including keyboards and guitars, they were supported by a drummer. The band’s name was illuminated behind the performers with two white boxes on either side of the stage for the women to play with levels. 

The indie pop group has gone viral on Tik Tok with 1.8 million likes, as well as millions of streams of their songs on Spotify. Their songs are sentimental and deeply personal so much so that Taylor said, “Welcome to group therapy, guys. You are welcome and you are safe here.” This was very much the vibe the whole night between both Sawyer and Joseph. 

This show marked the first performance on Joseph’s tour for the band and they expressed their gratitude to both Joseph and the audience for coming out. Taylor and Harvey had great rapport with the audience and had the crowd laughing between each song. The two played through their popular songs including “Emotional Girls” and “Support Group.”

They also played the slow ballad, “Halfway” which they said was about being on both sides of an unrequited love, “… with a dash of ‘am I gay?’” The crowd went crazy for this, especially when Taylor said “The answer is yes.”

Despite fumbling the beginning of their last song, Sawyer ended their set to a standing ovation from the previously idle audience.

Natalie, Meegan, and Allison Closner, the sisters that make up Joseph, entered the stage with the cutest matching outfits. They instantly got the audience on their feet (to the dismay of many audience members) stating that we were going to rock out. The group mostly stayed behind the microphones at the front of the stage and were supported by a drummer and guitarist on a platform behind them (in addition to Natalie on the acoustic and electric guitars.) Joseph has been making music for over a decade and performed a mix of older material and songs off of their last two album releases, “Good Luck, Kid” and “The Sun.”

As a long time fan of Joseph, I was particularly excited for this show, especially getting to hear some of my favorite songs including, “SOS (Overboard)” and “Canyon.” They also performed the song “White Flag” which was the obvious crowd favorite as everyone threw their arms up and shouted the chorus. 

Everything that I have loved about Joseph was amplified while getting to hear them live. They always have the most beautiful harmonies and insane vocal belts and it was so special to hear that in person. Each sister switched between lead singer and supporting with ad libs and those fantastic harmonies. They played many tracks from their new album including, “Nervous System”, “Don’t Protect Me”, “Tell Me About You”, and “Love is Flowing.”

I’ve always found Joseph’s songs empowering and personal. During the show they explained more detail behind some of their more recent tracks. Natalie told the crowd that the song “Waves Crash” meant a lot to her because she wrote it while unlearning many harmful ideas that religious groups perpetuate. She said that the song is about breaking down the idea that we are intrinsically bad people. “I’m just gonna be the messy thing that I am,” Natalie said. 

This song stuck out to me in particular, especially the lyric, “If I’m not what I produce or make or how I make someone feel, what the hell am I?” I found myself tearing up at this line and realized that this experience was the closest thing to a spiritual event that this atheist can get. Each track that they explained was incredibly relatable and had extremely healing qualities to them. I didn’t go into this show knowing too many of Joseph’s new songs but I left adding quite a few to my library. 

The twins (Meegan and Allison), sang an acoustic cover of the Rascal Flatts song, “Here Comes Goodbye” while Natalie supported them on the guitar. This was presented with a story of when Natalie first realized that Meegan and Allison could sing. She heard them singing along to this track growing up and years later asked the two to be in her band. I am so thankful that she did so we can have the incredible discography that Joseph has been creating for the last eleven years.  

The band changed into matching lavender jumpsuits for their encore performances. They played “Fireworks” and “Green Eyes” to finish their show. Joseph ended their set with immense energy as Natalie and Allison took off their shoes and danced around the stage. The sisters finished with a bang as they jumped off the on stage platform. The bond between the performers is one that I can only assume comes with playing for so long with those that you literally grew up with. Joseph did an incredible job of taking that natural energy that they create and sharing it with the crowd that didn’t have a lot of energy to begin with. They were able to shift the vibe for the night and successfully had the audience on their feet and grooving along to the whole show.