Rachel Bochner and Annika Wells Throw a Slumber Party at Soda Bar
On February 25th, Rachel Bochner and Annika Wells brought their Slumber Party Tour to Soda Bar a Diego for a night of bubbles and queer joy. Having both released albums in the past year, they are taking the road together for a tour that’s promised to feel like a sleepover with your best friends.
The night began with an incredible opening set by dreamy singer songwriter Lyncs, touring her recent EP Sideline Girl. With Cayley Spivey on guitar and Alexa Shafer on drums, they own the stage together as an ensemble. Lyncs was sporting high-top spiky black boots, delivering honest, nostalgic lyricism. They brought an ethereal pop energy to the stage that left it buzzing as we wait for the main acts.
When Rachel Bochner took the stage the room transformed into a true sleepover party. Bochner and drummer Sierra Leuschen rock the stage and create an amazing energy, Bochner connects with the audience instantaneously and with a natural ease. With props and bits involving a red lip shaped corded phone. Bochner perfomed a mashup of her older songs as well as a cover of “Guilty as Sin” by Taylor Swift. There was a small fan project, someone had passed out pink roses for audience members to hand to Bochner during this particular mashup. It blossomed into one of the sweetest moments of the nights, as she received rose after rose in shock that they continued to spawn!
The slumber party turned dance party when the bubble guns came out. It felt like being a kid again. For Bochner’s song Creative Liberties, they played an acoustic version, Rachel with no microphone. They sat down on the stage and encouraged the audience to sit down on the floor with them if they pleased. With Leuschen on the acoustic guitar, Rachel’s raw voice mixed with the sweet whispers of fans singing along. It was the most intimate part of the set, striking emotion through the room as the song ended and we stood up again, together. Bochner ended the set with You Don’t Want Me Like That, and left the crowd wanting more. Up next was Annika Wells.
Annika Wells skipped on stage in a pink fuzzy Juicy robe and a pink boa, scream-singing Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. The entrance felt in perfect form for a Slumber Party Tour. She sang her heart with guitarist, Connor McCoy, who adds an undeniable energy to the stage. The pair clearly have so much fun on stage together. Wells performed songs from her newest album, into the undergrowth. She tells stories of relationships and promises broken, reaching out and bringing the audience into the world of her music as authentically as possible. In classic sleepover style, a game of “Never Have I Ever” was played among the crowd, with the winner getting a special serenade on stage by Annika herself. The room felt like a slumber party with all your best friends, dancing and singing, and feeling free together. The end of the set included a beautiful performance of her song, what a time, referring to a difficult time you think you’ll never get out of, but you do, and what’s leftover is gratitude. A collective emotional response was shared across the room, bringing her set and the night to a beautiful close.
Rachen and Annika’s Slumber Party tour brought the people in that room together in community and friendship. It was a night of dreamy vocals from talented women, singing beautiful ballads and dancing through bubbles.
