Sondre Lerche Delivers Haunting Performance at the Aggie

Jonson Kuhn | New SCENE

Wednesday night (5/11) at the Aggie Theatre was a great evening of entertainment for the small crowd in attendance; it wasn’t the most packed I’ve ever seen the place but then again it really didn’t need to be in order to still provide engaging performances by each of the bands and the crowd was full of energy and anticipation, which certainly carried well into the night.  Famed Norwegian singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche and his band were the headlining act, but they were far from alone in delivering one of the more intimate concerts I’ve perhaps ever seen during my time in Fort Collins.

The opener was someone simply named Cody but I missed the performance on account of the fact that I had to run home to get my vaccination card. The Aggie Theatre was requiring proof of vaccination before entering or a negative COVID test and even once you were inside you were required to wear a mask the entire time. Aggie Theatre was initially one of the venues to be listed as doing away with mandates, so I’m not sure if this was at the request of these particular performers or if the venue has brought back proof of vaccinations and mask mandates for all of their shows. I strongly encourage everyone to always check the website of any venue before heading out to events, so that no one ends up making the same mistake I did.

The second band was from New York and they were called Mmeadows, which consisted of longtime collaborators Kristin Slipp and Cole Kamen-Green. Kristin is a current member of the well-known indie band Dirty Projectors, while Cole has worked directly with Beyoncé on two albums, ‘Beyoncé’ and ‘Four,’ Lorde on ‘Melodrama’ and ‘Solar Power,’ as well as Laurie Anderson and Meshell Ndegeocello.  Their music is mainly defined as experimental pop, with Cole relying on an interesting arsenal of electronic instruments and Kristin relying primarily on her powerful yet soulful vocals. The duo is currently out on tour, but you can check them out on Facebook or Instagram anytime you’d like.

Then came Sondre accompanied by his two bandmates along with ghostly themed aesthetics, even the drummer first came out onstage donning a white sheet like a ghost or a Klan member…I’m not entirely sure.  Sondre mostly played songs from his latest double album release Avatars of Love and the crowd stood fast with anticipation for each and every one of them; every person in attendance clearly knew who they were there to see and knew the songs they were there to hear by singing along at points as well as cheering loudly with just the few beginning chords, proving they knew the songs before they even really started.

Whether his music is your particular cup of tea or not, there’s no denying that Sondre is a seasoned veteran at performing, from his relaxed and charming stage presence to the ease and grace in which he maneuvers between musical styles, as his newest album features many.  One second you find yourself softly swaying back and forth to his quieter love ballads and then the next second you’re suddenly stomping your feet and throwing fists in the air to his louder rock-infused numbers and it’s this carefully constructed balance of genres that makes for a truly memorable performance.

You can follow Sondre online through his website at sondrelerche.com and as always, follow the Aggie Theatre online at z2ent.com/aggie-theatre.