BADBADNOTGOOD and Baby Rose at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville

On May 7, BADBADNOTGOOD and Baby Rose captivated the crowd at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl. BADBADNOTGOOD, an instrumental band with skill spanning genres, have found success both alone and with iconic musical collaborators. One of these collaborators, alternative R&B and Neo-Soul artist Baby Rose, joined the band onstage for their North American tour. After taking the stage, BADBADNOTGOOD described the show as an “audio and visual experience.” The only lighting for their first few songs came from a projection screen directly behind the band, which displayed 16mm analog film correlating with each song. Imagery included long rides on motorcycles and snakes curling and moving slightly. The imagery was interesting but not too distracting — a smart way to keep the audience’s attention while allowing focus to remain on the intricacy of the music. 

Once Baby Rose came onstage, the energy felt truly alive. Her vocals were expertly controlled yet endlessly exciting, with a captivating tone. Baby Rose used the entire stage and connected with audience members easily as she moved with the music and showed vulnerability with every word she sang. Truly, Baby Rose and BADBADNOTGOOD are a match made in heaven; they are both supremely technically talented yet allow their music to feel natural and flowing, a hard combination to pull off for many. A particularly magical moment of their onstage collaboration came with Baby Rose’s cover of “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac. “This is one of those songs I wish I wrote,” said Baby Rose of the iconic tune. Despite not writing it, Baby Rose delivered the song with such emotional resonance that it stuck with me throughout the entire night. With the combination of awe-inducing skill and moving music, both BADBADNOTGOOD and Baby Rose gave Brooklyn Bowl goers a night to never forget.

- Jules Krueger

Photos Courtesy of GC Moorman (For Bell Music Magazine)