Angie McMahon has been riding a wave of euphoria, success, and sold-out shows since kicking off her first headlining American tour on March 11th, 2024, at The Crocodile in Seattle, Washington. After a few West Coast dates, McMahon flew to Washington, DC, to perform at a sold-out show at The Atlantis on March 18th.

McMahon last visited Washington, DC, in 2019, when she made her American debut opening up for Hozier.  In addtion to catching the eye of Hozier many in her native Australia were taking notice too. Happy Mag labeled her as "one of the most endearing and talented voices in music today." Her appearances in America were a breakout moment for McMahon, and her future was looking incredibly promising, with newfound fans eager for her return.

Her newfound success would have to wait when the as the pandemic hit only a few months later.  McMahon would spend most of the following years in her native Australia, waiting for the music industry to return to normal. McMahon spent her time, like many of us, looking inward and pondering the future. To the delight of many, McMahon emailed her fans on June 7th, 2023, declaring, "hi! I'm making music again - it has been a long time because of all the things that have happened. [...] I hope it makes you feel something - I felt a full spectrum of everything while making it so maybe that will come across!!" and introduced us to her newest song, "Saturn Returning."

In October 2023, McMahon released Light, Dark, Light Again—a beautiful, emotional, and heartfelt album many could easily connect with. In her latest album, she demonstrated the full journey of introspection, guiding listeners on a therapeutic path of rediscovery alongside her.  Read or listen  to this NPR interview with Angie McMahon to hear her discuss this album.  The album so connected with fans that when we showed up at The Atlantis an hour before the opening act was set to perform, the venue was already at capacity, and the stragglers were struggling to find a nice spot to take in the show - it was Light Again for Angie and her many fans.

Philadelphia native Julia Pratt was first to appear on stage at 8 PM. Over the last couple of years, Pratt has seen her influence bubbling up in Philadelphia and beyond. After a fortunate online encounter caught the attention of fellow Philadelphians and indie-folk giants Mt. Joy and collaborated on the intimately aching "A Little Love." 

While sharing the road with McMahon and others, Pratt  introduces fans to her existing songs and sprinkles in a few new songs from her upcoming EP. Pratt's sound is a blissful mix of soulful vocals, jazz-inspired Bossa nova-inspired grooves, R&B influences, and indie-folk compositions. Pratt's stage presence, song compositions, and heartfelt emotions captivate the audience. During each of her eight-song set, fans remained transfixed on Pratt's music and hung on every word as they absorbed her music with an early silence - so much so that Pratt had to ask if the audience was okay because she was not used to an audience being that quiet. Each time a song concluded, fans would emerge from the silent absorption and erupted in huge applause. Pratt would share stories about song origins, including songs about relationship problems when it is your fault, how she was such a huge fan of Angie McMahon, and as she tuned her guitar shamelessly plugged her merchandise and YouTube page. Although fan numbers are not a reflection of talent, Julie Pratt deserves more subscribers on all of her social outlets, so be sure to visit them now and let her know you are supporting her immense talent. 

At 9 PM, McMahon and her band would take to a thunderous and sustained applause. McMahon took a moment to thank the audience, remarking on how full the venue was. She would begin her performance with some heartfelt and relatable music "Fireball Whiskey," "Saturn Returning," and "Fish," from her latest album.   With each song, McMahon pours her heart and soul into her songs and offers an intimate atmosphere, easily connecting with her audience - and this night would be no different. Within the first few songs McMahon would take a break to talk about how she receives many Instagram direct messages from fans and wondered if any were present at this show. She would continue by telling everyone how much she appreciates the messages she receives. Then, with a twinkle in her eye and a broad smile, she noted, "I never played a headline concert in DC before."   

The Atlantis appearance was very special to McMahon for so many reasons. She had not one but two friends in the audience, including her mum's friend who helped inspire a song about finding love and another friend who influenced her when she was a young schoolgirl. McMahon, in perhaps the most memorable interaction of the evening, asked the audience how they were doing, and a singular voice emerged from the crowd, asking in return, "How are you doing, Angie!" Visibly touched that the audience cared about her as much as she cared about them, she thanked them and remarked how her throat was dry because she flew in from Los Angeles the night before and asked the audience if they could help her sing "Slow Mover." The audience would sing, sway, and bathe McMahon in appreciation. To her fans we know that  with each song, McMahon infuses her performance with heartfelt emotion, drawing the audience into her world through every lyric and melody.  At this moment and others to follow, these two voices - the audience and the artist - fused together with such deep emotions and feelings.  

Feeling the deep appreciation from the audience and with renewed vigor, she poured her heart into "Letting Go" as she started singing, "I might be prouder of me / Than I ever have been / I've been learning 'bout letting go" before filling the venue with the heartfelt roar of "It's okay, it's okay / Make mistakes, make mistakes."

Later McMahon shared the origins of her song "Seratonin," how she was weaning herself off antidepressants and how she used to run every day to raise her serotonin levels.  She transformed the experience into a song with the same cadence and breathing of her runs into the song.  As she continued to talk about serotonin and body chemistry, an audience member yelled out, "Tryptophan," and asked if McMahon would like a tryptophan bracelet. McMahon radiated sincere joy, taking it with glee, looked down, and said how she loved her new bracelet.

The interactions continued to flow and while performing "If You Call," McMahon, with a smile, said to the audience, "You sound so good when you all sing along. Can anyone make any bird songs?" Her authenticity, relatability, and willingness to make a concert a shared experience are unmatched by any artist of her stature. That, combined with the power of her music and her Harmony Bigsby red hollow-body guitar, leaves little wonder as to why her shows consistently sell out around the world. One member of the audience yelled out that she had driven ten hours just to come to the Washington, DC, show and had left McMahon almost speechless. Fans looked at one another and nodded, agreeing that they would probably have done the same to attend one of Angie McMahon's concerts.

Just a few minutes later, a band member came up and whispered in McMahon's ear, and suddenly, the band disappeared behind the venue curtains. McMahon was told a band member had to use the restroom, and suddenly, she stood alone with 450 of her newest friends. Then, in a moment of inspiration, she decided to introduce "Just Like North," an unreleased song from her latest album, which she said she mostly remembered. A few bars in, when she forgot the lyrics, but fans encouraged her and cheered with appreciation. As the song concluded, McMahon would say with a heartfelt voice, "Thank you. That was really special and fun to do."

The band returned to the stage as they embarked on "Making It Through." Emotion spilled over towards the end of the song as the venue filled again with the audience singing along passionately, singing McMahon's own lyrics back to her. All she could do was take in the moment, smile, radiate with gratitude, and clutch her hands over her heart in appreciation. The night would not go without one last sing-along as McMahon segued into a sultry "Pasta." Audience members would linger on lyrics, not wanting the evening to end as they shared one last moment with Angie. With deep appreciation, fans moved from where they had stood transfixed since 6 PM and began to recall the countless interactions they had shared with Pratt and McMahon that evening, already excited to see these artists again soon.  These are just a few of our memories of a concert that will remain with us for a long time to come.  As each of these performers are so authentic we recommend seeing them to capture your own memorable interactions, listen to beautiful music, and share in priceless interactions.

With Julia Pratt introducing new material, we certainly look forward to any upcoming EP and more appearances in the DMV.  If you have not listened to Angie McMahon's latest album - we recommend that you do.  There are still a few tickets remaining on McMahon's North American tour before she returns to Australia and then tours Europe.  Based on her reception this tour, there is little doubt we have seen the last of McMahon in America and Pratt in the DMV.