BY Kristina Yensan | November 13th, 2025
ATTENTION BIRD UTOPIA
The night opens with Attention Bird Utopia—a collaborative project formed by guitarist/songwriter Harrison Whitford and producer/songwriter Eli Hirsch. With a delivery that feels like the soundtrack to an indie film—road tripping through their debut album, Best of Kings, with tracks like “Brother, Oh Brother” and “Stage Name”.
Bringing their magic on the road, Eli shares that the Phoenix stop is only their second live show together and it was the perfect way to kick off the night. Attention Bird Utopia brings plenty of charm with a complimentary approach to this newly found partnership.
LUCIUS
Gold Rush Tour has arrived at Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix and it’s bringing to the stage something sweeter than liquid gold. With Lucius waiting in the wings, the stage transforms into a living room within a monochromatic desert scene. The house lights dim low as Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe take center stage at their keyboards.
This tour is celebrating Lucius’ newest self-titled album released in May earlier this year. Glowing in the spotlight, their angelic voices pour through the speakers as the show begins with the opening harmonies of the first track, “Final Days”. Complemented by Holly and Jess clad in beautiful, custom red matching ensembles, the aesthetic is a perfect combination of creative direction and fashion which has been a consistent trademark for the band through the years.
The audience is vibing and reciprocating the contagious energy Lucius brings as they take us on a nostalgic journey through a setlist with songs new and old like “Gold Rush”, “Nothing Ordinary”, “Tempest” and one of my personal favorites, “Joyride”. All leading up to one of the highly anticipated songs of the night, “Genevieve”. With a funky baseline and a cowbell that slaps, this song gets everyone’s hearts pumping as the band bangs their heads to the beat while giving it all they’ve got.
Towards the end of the night, Holly and Jess take a sweet moment to interact with the audience by telling a couple of stories about themselves and expressing their gratitude for the fans. They also revisited a tradition of opening notes that are left in a white mailbox on stage by fans during the show. Cute stories were told; a few laughs were shared which made the show feel that much more personal.
When it was time for the encore, they stripped it down and gathered around a vintage style spring-mount microphone for a more intimate, acoustic performance of “Two of Us on the Run” and “Mad Love”. For their last song, they did a cover of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts”. As shared by Lucius in a social media post back in September, “(“Everybody Hurts”) felt like an appropriate song for the times we’re living in – it’s a song we grew up on, it’s nostalgic and sits in this certain place in our voices where it feels as much like a cry as it does a pretty melody.”
In the end, Lucius’s Gold Rush Tour stop in Phoenix felt less like a concert and more like an experience. Between the incredible harmonies, magnetic stage presence and hypnotic rhythms, the crowd was left buzzing with that unmistakable Lucius afterglow. It was both a celebration and a cathartic moment—a night that felt like they were sharing their living room filled with vulnerability and joy. One that delivered on every level—radiant, emotional, and electrifying from first note to last.
Kristina Yensan is a photojournalist for Majestic Music Magazine. See more of her work here.
