On Wednesday March 20, California-based HUNNY took the stage at Empire Live in Albany, supporting Mom Jeans alongside Summer Salt. With a dynamic setlist pulling from the band’s near-decade long discography as well as their most recent album, new planet heaven, HUNNY put on a show that exemplified their long-standing and ever-growing presence in the alternative scene.
HUNNY hails from Northern California, a product of the indie rock scene that flourished in the area in the 2010s. They are the first of two bands supporting fellow California-based Mom Jeans on their US tour; several other bands, including Free Throw and Just Friends, are also set to join for select dates.
This was HUNNY’s second visit to Albany, but their music is well known and well liked within the prominent shoegaze and post-punk scenes in the Hudson Valley, making them a perfect fit to raise the energy for a mid-week show.
The group opened the show with “JFK,” the lead song off of their 2022 album Homesick. Within seconds of the grungy, overdriven guitar meeting the crowd’s wall of sound, everyone was moving. The band’s own energy on stage is tenable from the photo pit, their own jumps and erratic movements matching their audience’s. The band continued to pull the rest of their setlist from 2022’s Homesick, as well as new planet heaven and their mid-2010s hits, such as “Televised,” and their closer, “Vowels (And The Importance of Being Me).” By the end of their set, the house was full, and the bar was open- all eyes and ears were on HUNNY, and the crowd couldn’t help but move.
As I was headed out of the venue, I happened to overhear a Mom Jeans fan mentioning the first opener, praising the group’s ability to appeal to potential fans- the last thing I hear her say is, “I don’t know, but they got me jumping!”
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