In my time writing for Staged Haze, I’ve been lucky to get early access to a lot of incredible music—stuff I can sit with, turn over in my head, and let marinate before the rest of the world hears it. But what makes the experience even better is getting to see those songs come alive on stage. There’s something magical about how a track transforms in a live setting, how an artist reinterprets it in real time—or how it just hits you differently when you’re surrounded by people who love it too. That high of being in a room full of fans who are just as emotionally invested? You can’t bottle that.
So when Miya Folick announced her Erotica Veronica tour, I knew I had to be there. I was already obsessed with the album, but I had a strong feeling my friend Romy would be too. The moment it dropped, I sent it her way. She texted me back almost immediately: You were right. There’s nothing quite like that feeling of accomplishment when you hit a bullseye with a music recommendation—when something you love connects with someone else just as deeply. It’s one of my favorite joys of being a music fan.
I ended up going to the show with my friend Romy, Meleah Hartnett—Brooklyn-based writer, previous Staged Haze contributor, and host of Sleeve Notes, a podcast by Luna Collective Mag—and a few more of Romy’s friends, all of us deeply in our feelings about this record.
Normally, when I’m covering a show, I’m alone in the photo pit, trying to keep it cool among the pros with lenses that could double as telescope equipment. But this time, after snapping a few photos, I got to join my friends in the crowd. I’m pretty sure we were having the most fun there—scream-singing every lyric, dancing with wild abandon, and fully going on the emotional journey Miya crafted throughout the set.
Olivia Kaplan opened with a stunning, stripped-down set—just her and a guitar off to the side of the stage. She spoke about her album Afterlife, which navigates grief and death, but her set ranged emotionally, showing tenderness and lightness as well. One highlight came when Miya joined her early on for a duet. The love between them was palpable—they mentioned their admiration for one another multiple times throughout the night, during both of their sets, giving the show this familial, communal feel. It wasn’t just a performance; it felt like being invited into a shared space between friends.
When Miya returned to the stage, she was dressed casually in long shorts and a cropped tank top, midriff bare, electric guitar strapped on. She looked effortlessly confident. Her band was just as charismatic—multi-instrumentalists who kept the momentum going all night. She shouted out Jacob, her bandmate, whose birthday it was, and her bassist casually slayed in a beret the entire show.
Before a particularly tender stretch in the set, Miya explained that “Prism of Light” and “Light Through the Linen” are companion songs—and, to her, the emotional core of Erotica Veronica. She shared that for a long time, she felt like she had to be the source of light in every room, but as she’s gotten older, she’s realized how important it is to have people around her who reflect that light back. “As long as you have that community,” she said, “you’ll be okay.” That moment felt like a gut punch—in the best way.
At one point in the set, Miya brought out actor and poet Jeremy Radin for a brief interlude. He performed a poem called “American Idol”—a piece that had the crowd chuckling with its honesty and relatability. It was a surprising but welcome breather in the middle of the show, and another example of how the night felt intentionally curated to move beyond the standard concert format. It wasn’t just about playing songs—it was about building a full emotional atmosphere, with moments of laughter, tenderness, rage, and release.
The setlist didn’t follow a rigid arc, which made the show feel unpredictable in the best way. “She started with the first three songs on the album and then bounced around the tracklist, with moments of poetry, old material, and a lower-energy encore,” said Meleah. “It kept me engaged and present the whole time—I didn’t know what was coming next, and that made it electric.” I completely agree with her—this was my favorite show of the year so far, too. I walked out of the venue buzzing, emotional, and already nostalgic for something that had just happened.
Meleah shared that there’s a rage in Miya’s voice on this record that wasn’t there in her earlier work, and the instrumentation really lets that rawness shine. “The way she explores desire—especially queer desire—as something bodily, almost primal, really stuck with me,” she said. “It’s all over the album art too, with her covered in dirt. It’s messy, visceral, and grounded.”
Romy agreed. “She has a really special way of writing about queer desire and intimacy that’s so visceral,” she said. “On ‘Alaska,’ she paints such a vivid portrait of new love—the nerves, the butterflies, the creaky floor, the sweater, the shower—it feels so real. “This Time Around” stands out to me as both sweet and devastating. It captures the push-pull of desire and the fear of slipping into old patterns. And “Hate Me” is such a powerful, cathartic release—it’s like shedding all the outside perceptions of yourself. “Light Through the Linen” finishes the album with such hope—it’s a beautiful conclusion to the project.”
The show wound down with a tender solo performance of an unreleased song—just Miya, alone onstage, holding us all in place with her voice and guitar. Then came Mommy, the final track of the night, delivered with full emotional force. A quietly fiery end to a set that had moved through joy, rage, intimacy, and release.
After the show, Miya reposted one of my Instagram stories. I DMed her to say, “I was in the group absolutely raging for you,” and she replied, “Obsessed with you.”
No, Miya. We are obsessed with you.
Miya Folick’s Erotica Verotica tour concludes on May 23 at BottleRock Napa Valley—check out the remaining list of dates here.
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