On Wednesday night, Feb. 27, I went to the House of Blues to see Quinn XCII (pronounced 92). I had had these tickets for months, which were my Christmas present to my boyfriend since we love Quinn. I made sure to get them the second they went on sale, so I could get floor seats. We arrived at the venue a little after 6 p.m., since the doors opened at 7 p.m. I thought the line was pretty long, but it was freezing so I wasn’t willing to wait more than an hour outside. Once we finally got inside, we were separated to go through a security checkpoint, one line for guys and another for girls. I will say that at the House of Blues, they take safety very seriously. They checked my body, pockets, and bags thoroughly—something I didn’t mind, as I’d rather be safe than sorry!

The first opening act was Christian French, one of my favorite artists, originally from Indiana. He is super-talented and definitely underrated, with 1.5 million monthly streams on Spotify (yes, that is still definitely a lot and very impressive, but in comparison to the other artists performing, it’s a bit less). I was probably just as excited to see Christian perform as I was to see Quinn, the main act. Christian put on a great show! He was dancing all around the stage alongside his guitarist, while also going back to play the piano as well. He kept the crowd alive by interacting and having us hold our phones with the flashlight on to light the room up. He played hit singles along with a new, unreleased song as well. It was amazing, and definitely lived up to my expectations and hopes for one of my favorite artists. I hope that the next time I see Christian he is headlining because he really deserves the recognition.

The next act was actually a surprise to me, I didn’t realize this performer was even on Quinn’s tour. Out came Ashe, a roughly 5-foot-long blonde-haired ball of sunshine. I had heard the name “Ashe music” before, but had never listened to her songs. I was pleasantly surprised to hear her amazing vocals. She told the crowd that she recently was recovering from pneumonia, but you would’ve never known—this girl could sing. She also had one really moving song, called “Moral of the Story”, where she shared her experience with a recent divorce. Her charisma and energy took hold of the entire venue—she lit up the room. She’s one of those people that you can tell is a genuine, good person who doesn’t have to bullsh*t it to be liked. That being said, she totally killed it.

Then finally, the moment I had waited months for, Quinn came onto the stage. I was so excited, I could barely contain it. I had no idea what was in store for me. For some reason, I had this notion that Quinn was a reserved, sort of socially awkward guy. I guess the mental health issues he addresses in his songs gave me this idea, but boy, was I wrong. He held an energy that took focus on the whole room: singing along with the crowd, and really becoming intimate and real; focusing one on one with the crowd. He had everyone link arms and dance from left to right alongside him. He had a super long setlist, playing old songs from when he first started to new songs off his current album “From Michigan, With Love”. There was a moment where Quinn played an acoustic version of his song “Panama”, written about his late grandma. All his songs performed, whether they were upbeat and alive or an acoustic cover that captivated the crowd. Quinn even ended the show by crowd-surfing to an 80s’ song—iconic. Overall, the night was an amazing experience that I’m so glad I was a part of.