On Thursday, April 23, Caroline Kingsbury brought her Shock Treatment Tour to Racket in Manhattan. A rising force in the pop scene, Kingsbury shines bright in iridescent sparkles, go-go boots, and patterned tights. With a sound and spirit reminiscent of Chappell Roan and Hemlocke Springs, the queer popstar’s electric energy makes for a brilliant stage presence.
Bershy
Bershy opened the night under red lights with original songs and a stunning cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” The persona of Midwest-born singer-songwriter Brea Shay, Bershy is a fresh face in the indie-pop world. Donning a pair of AKG wired headphones, Bershy danced around stage while singing to her synth hits.
Caroline Kingsbury
Growing up in an evangelical sector of Florida, the queer singer uses her artistry to challenge the conservative norms she experienced throughout her youth and nowadays throughout the United States. From working two jobs to going all-in on her music career, Kingsbury’s journey as an artist plays a huge role in her theatrical, yet personal, performances. After her highly-successful debuts at All Things Go and Lollapalooza in late 2025, Kingsbury is now taking Shock Treatment on the road for her first headline tour.
A vision straight out of the ’80s, Kingsbury’s set started with her strutting onto stage, removing a pink oversized blazer to reveal her elaborate neon bodysuit. Grabbing the microphone for “Chocolate,” the singer showed off her powerful vocals from the get-go. As she introduced herself to the Racket crowd for the first time of the night, the artist explained how this New York show would make for an extremely emotional night. “I’ve opened here maybe ten times,” Kingsbury said, “and this is my first time performing here alone. It’s a crazy ‘we made it’ feeling!” The last time she performed in NYC, Kingsbury played at Racket with frequent collaborator MARIS, where they split the headlining act by playing pieces of both artists’ discographies, as well as their shared songs.
If there’s one thing to know about a Caroline Kingsbury show, it’s to be prepared for her dynamic range to take center-stage. Between singing and sharing memories with the crowd, Kingsbury plays a bass drum, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and synthesizer. She doesn’t stop moving throughout the night and her energy never dips below 100%. And somehow, while she does all of this and more, she’s still the same Caroline from the start of her career in 2019. She instantly recognized one of her first fans, Alex, in the front of the crowd. It’s clear that under Kingsbury’s maximalist persona and infectious energy, remains a girl grateful to be living out her dreams one show at a time.
With the introduction into “Pain and Pleasure” came a deeply emotional moment for the Los Angeles-based artist. Sitting next to a prop-filled table, Kingsbury explained that she wrote the song while grieving the loss of her brother in 2019 due to brain cancer. Taking him with her via photograph on each tour stop, she explained how his passing heavily influenced her first album Heaven Is A Flight. “He’d be the biggest groupie here!” she joked, before dedicating the song to anyone who’s experienced a major loss. The room fell silent as Kingsbury sang the acoustic ballad, asking the crowd to turn on their phone flashlights halfway through.
Kingsbury’s eclectic, maximalist persona beautifully compliments her unapologetically honest lyricism. Rooted in embracing queerness and self-exploration, her most recent release, Shock Treatment, is all about pride and living authentically. The third song off the album, “Meteorite,” brought another dedication – one to all the LGBTQ+ fans in the room. Making the venue a safe space for all, Kingsbury instructed the crowd to close their eyes and move with the music. When told to open their eyes, everyone was swaying back and forth together, smiling as she dedicated the song to “all gay people, but especially [her] girlfriend.”
“Alabama” brought another round of self-acceptance for everyone in the crowd. Hand-picking six fans from the front row, the singer brought them onstage for a humorously-orchestrated dance (consisting of Caroline teaching them to move like backup singers). In a call out to her conservative childhood and to homophobia, Kingsbury yelled, “Look at how much f***ing fun being queer is!” as the six fans danced with her.
Wrapping up the night, Kingsbury played the song that, in her words, she owes everything to, “Kissing Someone Else.” Smiling at the sound of the opening synth notes, she said, “This song brought me to you. Without it, I’d still be at the restaurant.” A crowd favorite, their energy was saved until the very end, singing every lyric while jumping, dancing, and enjoying the moment with the people around them. “Shock Treatment” illuminated the Racket stage in rainbow lights one last time as Kingsbury belted out her most retro synth-pop hit. The Shock Treatment Tour is a beautiful introduction to Caroline Kingsbury for fans both old and new, but especially for those who want to see ’80s music and maximalist pop from a new lens.
Caroline Kingsbury – April 23, 2025 – Racket
Setlist: Chocolate, In My Brain, Heaven’s Just A Flight, What Kind of Person, Fly Too Close, Strawberry Sheets, Pain and Pleasure, Massive Escape, Blue Eyes, Fall In Love, 16, Meteorite, Alabama, I See God In You, Take My Phone Away, Kissing Someone Else, Shock Treatment
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