MARIS Brings Her Very Own Mosh Pit to Casbah
Last week, on Friday October 9, 2026, MARIS brought her first ever headlining tour to the Casbah in San Diego. MARIS is a pop singer songwriter, using a lot of DIY rock influences and writing about heartbreak, themes of queer joy and the long journey of learning to love yourself. She brings her raw emotion to every stage with her and gives fans a cathartic and liberating experience at her show.
A tradition brought along with her from her co-headline tour last year with Caroline Kingsbury, the “opening act” for the show was audience karaoke! Having experienced both shows, I had the same thought both times, “Every artist should be doing this!” Audience karaoke on stage is so incredibly fun, it creates a warm and fun house party vibe for the show, bonding the crowd so quickly as we sing together and support each other on stage. San Diego was full of incredibly talented acts, every fan who sang karaoke was so talented, some of them must have a future on the stage. Iconic songs were chosen like “Zombie” by The Cranberries, ”Silk Chiffon” by MUNA, and “Doses and Mimosas” by Cherub. MARIS even came out to dance with the crowd near the end and joined a fan on stage while they sang Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” It was such a sweet way to make the room feel like family.
MARIS took the stage and grabbed everyone’s attention in an instant. With her iconic star makeup, and shimmering glitter tears down her face, she knows exactly who she is and brings you into her world with her. Her stage presence is so powerful and alive, hitting crazy high notes with composure, high energy and a huge smile. It’s so easy to see this is what she is meant to be doing. Making soulful eye contact, she sings into the eyes and hearts of the fans in the front rows who are belting every lyric. The way she can connect so easily while also having such a presence that she makes a small stage feel huge is endlessly impressive.
She starts the set with “Body Is On Fire” and has the whole room jumping and dancing with her. It can be so special when an artist takes advantage of the intimate setting of their shows and leans into the feeling of closeness and connection, and MARIS does just that. She moves from the stage to the center of the crowd, asking fans to sit on the floor along with her to sing a slower, acoustic song, “Chameleon” about struggling with self love and deep feelings of insecurity. MARIS falls deeply into the emotions of the song and holds the hands and hearts of so many fans as she does so, turning slowly to see every face in the crowd that circles around her. She even facilitates self-love affirmations among the crowd after the performance, having us all say in unison that we love ourselves, and even extending that love to our neighbors in the crowd as she directs us to make eye contact with a stranger, and tell them we love them. Tears were shed and deep exhales of relief and freedom were felt through the room. Seamlessly, MARIS is back on stage jumping and rocking and radiating confidence.
The most recent EP MARIS released came out just last month, titled MOSH PIT, which she tells us is an ode to the time she spent living in New York City and dancing in mosh pits every weekend. As another way to honor that time in her life she does a cover of “Mr. Brightside,” by The Killers. She talks about the moshing she loves not as the kicking, pushing, shoving king, but as the freedom of expression, dance and move your body like it’s all you can do kind. MARIS and her band even join the mosh at one point, and we all danced together like we’ve done it our whole lives.
Another beautifully intimate part of the show was when she sang “Goodbye Forever” acoustically, no mic, while sitting on the bar top. I always love a moment to hear raw vocals at a live show, and this soulful sad song was just right for the occasion, as she sang into the eyes of doe eyed couples and even smiled so softly and genuinely at me and my camera when she spotted it.
It was enamoring how she was able to blend such high energy pop rockstar moments while simultaneously creating such beautiful intimate moments, creating a liberating and safe space to be ourselves. I can’t wait to watch her bloom and grow in the years to come and be sure to catch her while she’s in your city!