There are “performers”, and then there are performers. Sarah Kinsley made clear which category she belongs to within the first few minutes of Sunday night’s sold-out show at The Royale in Boston.
Charlie Burg opened the evening and warmed up a crowd that arrived ready. By the time Kinsley took the stage, the room was fully primed for what turned out to be one of the more technically impressive sets you’re likely to catch in a club-sized venue.
Kinsley moved between configurations throughout the night, standing alone at the mic, picking up guitar, and returning to the piano, each mode comfortable and natural. But the piano is where she separates herself entirely from her peers. Pop musicians who play piano are common. What Kinsley does with the keys is something else. Three songs mid-to-late in the set, “After All,” “I’m Not a Mountain,” and “Reverie,” were performed completely solo, just her voice and the instrument, and they were the most technically stunning moments of the evening. The room went quiet in a way that only happens when an audience understands they’re watching something exceptional.
Between those songs, she shared a story. She told the crowd about a previous trip to Boston where she caught a striking sunset while holding back her friend’s hair as she recovered from a long night of drinking. She paused, glanced up toward the VIP section where her entire family had come out to watch, and added a dry “sorry, Dad.” The room laughed. Her father, to his credit, seemed to take it well.
In our conversation with Kinsley earlier this year, she spoke about concerts as shared emotional experiences, about locking eyes with someone in the crowd and feeling like the song is being pulled from the past into the present. Sunday night at The Royale had that quality. The setlist leaned on her EP “Fleeting,” which centers on impermanence and the ability to find meaning in moments that won’t last, and the songs carried that theme without ever feeling heavy-handed. When “The King” arrived, the viral track that introduced her to a much wider audience, the room snapped out of its trance and fully snag along, a bit of a release after a set that had asked for full attention and received it.
The evening closed on “Fleeting,” the title track, a fitting choice for a show that felt exactly like what Kinsley described her music as aiming for: something meaningful precisely because it won’t last forever.
Sarah Kinsley’s tour continues in Europe over the next month. Get your tickets here.
Nathan Smith is a Providence-based music photographer and journalist focusing on capturing the special moments and unfiltered magic of live performances. Whether he’s shooting established artists at sold-out TD Garden shows or documenting the rise of emerging local bands, his goal is the same: to pull viewers directly into the heart of the moment.
His writing spotlights rising artists and local scenes, with a focus on telling the stories that often get overlooked. A lifelong music fan and musician himself, Nathan approaches interviews and portraits as conversations rather than transactions, building trust with artists so their genuine personalities can shine through. Whether he’s backstage, in the photo pit, or at home in front of the keyboard, he brings the same curiosity and care to every assignment.
Outside of his press work with Juice Box Press, Nathan works regularly as a photographer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as numerous bands in the Boston and Providence area. Nathan also plays violin with a local orchestra, follows Celtics basketball almost religiously, and is an avid fantasy reader.