Sunday night at Brighton Music Hall, the calendar said March 8th. International Women’s Day. It felt fitting. The sold-out crowd packed into the Boston venue to celebrate two women carving out their own space in the music world, and by the end of the night, it was clear both had more than earned it.
This was Goldie Boutilier’s headlining show, but Syd Taylor, billed as the opener, commanded a room that had clearly shown up for her just as much as the headliner. The barricade was full before her first note landed, and the fans pressed up against it knew every word. Most often openers are playing to half-empty rooms and struggling to be heard above the pre-show chatter. Not the case for Syd Taylor.
Taylor’s story carries real weight. She spent years performing alongside her twin sister Emilia Paige in Stereo Jane before stepping out on her own, a transition that comes with its own emotional complexity. She addressed that complexity head-on in “Jane,” a touching, direct dedication to her sister that landed with noticeable sincerity in the room. The rest of her set drew heavily from her 2025 debut solo album “After the Fact,” with a standout moment coming in the form of an unreleased track, “Movie Star,” which had fans excited for what’s to come. Sets built on debut material can sometimes feel tentative, Taylor’s felt like a confident statement. She closed on “Heaven,” the leading single from her debut, which drew the biggest reaction of her set and served as a reminder, if anyone still needed one, that she is fully in her solo era now, building something entirely her own.
Goldie Boutilier’s headline set brought a different kind of energy to the room, sultry and confident, the work of someone who has taken a long, winding road to get here. Discovered over a decade ago by Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Boutilier has since moved through reinventions, a stint DJing under the name Goldilox, a chapter modeling in France, before landing back in music under her own name in 2022 and steadily building a catalog since. Her 2025 album “Goldie Boutilier Presents… Goldie Montana” anchored much of her setlist, alongside material from her EPs and singles, including “Cowboy Gangster Politician,” the title track from one of her EPs, which she used to close the main set. She then returned for an encore, closing the night on “Goldie Montana,” the album’s title track, a fittingly grand way to end a late Sunday night in Boston. Before leaving the stage, Boutilier made a point of acknowledging the date. It was International Women’s Day. And fans had shown up for a sold-out show featuring two paving their way in the music industry. It’s a powerful statement in an industry that is still struggling to find equality and representation.
Brighton Music Hall was wall-to-wall all night. There are two types of sold-out. There’s “sold-out,” then there’s actually sold-out where you couldn’t have squeezed another person in the venue. But the crowd didn’t mind. They had come ready to be there, and both artists made sure it was worth it. For Syd Taylor especially, Sunday night felt like a step towards becoming a household name in music.
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.