vANA
Four Women, four sounds, one night at the bluebird
The Bluebird Theater felt charged in a different way Wednesday night — like something slightly unhinged was about to happen, and everyone in the room was already in on it. An all-female lineup featuring VANA, Chandler Leighton, Deadlands and RedHook took over the stage, and the energy never really dipped once it started. There was this underlying excitement all night because it felt genuinely refreshing watching four completely different women carve out their own place in rock music without toning down any part of themselves to do it.
RedHook opened the night with pure chaos. Emmy Mack had the crowd hooked instantly, especially when she hit the stage in a blood-stained straight jacket that made the set feel like a live horror movie in the best way possible. Their performance was loud, theatrical, messy, and sharp all at once, balancing heavy breakdowns with this sarcastic, unhinged energy that made the entire room feel restless. It felt like punk attitude mixed with feminine rage and horror aesthetics, and the crowd ate up every second of it.
Deadlands came in with a heavier shift in energy that hit the room right away. Kasey Karlsen’s vocals were the center of it all, showing off an insanely impressive range as she jumped between high, clean melodies and deep guttural screams with a kind of control that felt effortless live. What made it hit so hard was how naturally she moved from sharp and melodic to raw and aggressive without ever sounding forced. The set carried a strong emotional edge underneath it, like everything was dialed in to hit a little harder than expected.
Chandler Leighton brought a different kind of intensity to the lineup, blending alt-pop and rock influences with a stage presence that felt confident, magnetic, and fully comfortable in itself. Having seen her at Bluebird last year, the growth this time felt obvious; less like someone still figuring things out and more like someone fully stepping into her identity as a performer. There was a strong sense of confidence throughout the set, balancing sexuality, vulnerability, and control in a way that felt natural. She performed both of her newest singles, including “Wasted Potential,” which actually dropped during the show, making the performance feel immediate and alive in real time. Between the crowd response and the way she carried herself onstage, the entire set felt cohesive in a way that only really happens when an artist starts fully owning who they are.
By the time VANA hit the stage, the room was fully locked in. Fans tossed Pokémon plushies and card packs onto the stage throughout the set, showing the playful connection she’s built with her audience even as her music gets darker and heavier. Her newest releases, “Pray” and “In Your Name,” leaned fully into the industrial chaos and emotional intensity that’s made her rise happen so quickly over the last year. What made her performance stand out most was the contrast — girly, playful, almost princess energy between songs, then instantly flipping into full metal frontwoman mode the second the music started. The screams were massive, ripping through the room with an intensity that felt even more insane coming from someone so petite in stature.
What lingered after the night wasn’t a single takeaway so much as the feeling of watching four women occupy the same space without competing for it. Each set had its own version of power and together it just worked. Not as a concept, not as a statement, but as a night where women in rock weren’t framed as anything other than exactly what they are: the whole show.