Robyn Jones
Sports Editor
Pop punk and alternative music artist Charlotte Sands performed at the Observatory’s Constellation Room in Santa Ana on Sept. 30.
Sands was on her first tour called “Love and Other Lies,” named after a common theme she saw within the titles of her songs.
As Sands arrived at the venue, she greeted her fans who were waiting impatiently outside in line. With the minutes passing by, the line continued to grow as teenagers and young adults arrived in crowds.
Approximately 70 people were present in the room standing around talking and singing along to pop punk songs that were playing over the speakers before the curtains closed, insinuating the start of the show.
At the start of the show, the lights dimmed and the opening act Carobae, a young pop artist from Nashville, emerged from the back of the stage. Her lively personality hyped up the crowd alongside her drummer as they joked around with us and laughed when she almost forgot her own lyrics.
She engaged the audience with her enchanting lyrics about mental health. Her song “I Don’t Miss You” had the audience in their feelings, swaying side to side as they thought about the person who hurt them the most.
The song waved a sense of comfort over the audience as everyone fixated their eyes on her, as they enjoyed being present in the moment without cell phones interrupting their experience.
With Carobae ending her set, the audience waited about 10 minutes before Sands’ drummer and guitarist came to the stage to get the concert started. Within seconds, the stage lights dimmed down.
Orange and pink lights began flashing as Sands charged onto the stage singing her opening song “Tantrum.” Immediately the crowd started yelling and singing along as she sang to individual fans, locking them in with intimate eye contact.
She gave an amazing performance. With a front row spot, I experienced a captivating experience that took me back to when I first discovered Charlotte Sands as an opener for T-Pain at Lavernapalooza earlier this year.
Her eccentric stage energy was definitely something you can feel while being in the audience and looking up to her.
Throughout the concert Sands was amazed as the crowd continuously sang back every one of her songs that was performed. She did not fail to let the audience know how much she appreciated everyone for making her dreams come true.
Before the concert ended, Sands played an unreleased song called “Alright.” Sands said the song has been unreleased for two years and was made at the start of the pandemic when she needed hope that better days were coming.
She said that being far from home during the pandemic she was conflicted between going home to family or staying to work on her career.
As the concert ended, Sands jumped into the audience to sing and hug a few fans as she exited. Once she disappeared the crowd chanted her name before leaving.
Robyn Jones can be reached at robyn.jones2@laverne.edu.
Robyn Jones is a senior journalism major and sports editor for the Campus Times. She is also a member of Iota Delta and a freelance photographer whose work can be found on Instagram at @jnaisphotos.
