Chelsea Cutler Shuts Down New York City
Written for Our Era
Photography by Sophie Gurwitz
New York City resident and respected singer/song-writer, Chelsea Cutler, shut down the city’s Hammerstein Ballroom on Saturday night. Back to back nights with a sold out venue and an electric crowd, Cutler is only one week into the second leg of her “When I Close My Eyes” 2022 North American tour, and the response to her performance has been deafening.
Fans formed sprawling lines outside the doors, counting the hours down to the seconds, waiting to rush inside and get as close to the stage as possible – the closer the better considering the visual effects of Chelsea’s set are an ethereal once in a lifetime experience.
On tour with Cutler are Arden Jones and ayokay. Arden Jones, a young and rising star who slays the ukulele, brought a light energy to the room with his pop-flair raps. Following Jones, Alex O’Neill, the face of ayokay and friend of Chelsea Cutler, took the stage with Jacob Ames Chatelain as the final opener. They provided a thirty minute set of electronic percussion and refreshing EDM to warm up the stage for Chelsea. O’Neill speaks highly of Cutler, informing the crowd of her origin “doing Odesza covers”on the music platform SoundCloud. When he was signed to Mutual Friends, he insisted they check out Chelsea to hear her sound, and the rest is history.
Cutler’s most recent single “the lifeboat’s empty!” (released January 28th, 2022), is a solid representation of her sound. With guitar riffs, experimental electronic beats, and passionate lyrics, Chelsea strikes the crowd with intent and emotion. Performing hits from her most recent album “When I Close My Eyes” (released March of 2022), and songs from the projects in between her first album “Sleeping With Roses” (released in 2018), a variety of seasons of Cutler’s career were beautifully brought into fruition on stage. The audience was even lucky enough to hear her unreleased single, “Men on The Moon,” which is a sure hint to the intimate depth of her next album. Chelsea seemed to be in conversation with the fans as she sang the song with sentimental ecstasy.
Chelsea was left in awe of the crowd’s involvement with her show and expressed multitudes of gratitude. New York City was just the start of the tour, and a sold out double-header at Hammerstein Ballroom is an encouraging glimpse into the future of Chelsea Cutler’s music career and an affirmation of her talents.
