If anyone was going to be salty about their breakups going into Labor Day weekend, it’s certainly not the Beaches. All four members of Toronto’s casually cool indie-pop band — lead singer and bassist Jordan Miller, guitarists Kylie Miller and Leandra Earl, and drummer Eliza Enman-McDaniel — traded brokenhearted resentment and dejection for the reaffirming thrill of goofing off with friends and flipping off partners who did you dirty. How ironic, though, that they rang in the record release show for their long-awaited third album, No Hard Feelings, while headlining the Salt Shed on Friday night. In reality, Chicago’s newly beloved music venue is more literal in name than a bitter pun; in 2022, the former Morton Salt Factory warehouse was converted into a rustic yet sleek music hall with hideaway shops slinging pizza slices, curated vinyl, and vintage clothing.
Before a crowd of more than 3,000, the Beaches were feeling grateful instead as the headliners of Rolling Stone’s second 2025 installment of Gather No Moss tour. “This is the first show of the No Hard Feelings era,” Enman-McDaniel said. “Thank you for following us through all our different eras before now.”
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The crowd was eager to celebrate that milestone and the commonalities between the recently single. Before the Beaches even took the stage, audience members sang along to house playlist picks like Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and Icona Pop’s “I Love It” with full lungs primed for karaoke. Women in mini-skirts, bows tied into their hair, and arms linked through those of their friends tittered eagerly as the Beaches’ name flashed onscreen behind the stage.
All four band members emerged dressed for a female slumber party in adulthood — lingerie, camisoles, bras — and led a countdown from ten to one, like a New Year’s Eve ball drop signifying the transition from a bustling party to invite-only afterparty. They opened with an explosive version of “Last Girls at the Party,” prepping audience members for the nonstop dance ahead.
“Welcome to the party, baby,” Miller said with a flirtatious grin. “If you asked me a few years ago when I was newly dumped if we would be here, I wouldn’t believe you. Going through that breakup was pretty rough. Anybody been through a breakup before?” Met with affirmative screams, Miller recounted the time she drank an entire bottle of wine, smoked a full pack of cigarettes, and claimed a table for one. “No, a table for me and you,” she corrected, inviting the crowd to join her class on overcoming relationship burnouts.
The thing about the Beaches’ parties is that they’re meant for everyone. Tonight’s openers represented just how wide that range is. Brennan Wedl was a stand-in for the bashful wallflowers who have a way with words, fueled by alcohol or not. Self-described as “Nashville wench rock,” the Tennessee singer-songwriter brought a looser style of indie rock to her version of country with help from a backing band. While the wait for a follow-up to her 2019 debut album, Holy Water Branch, stretches on, recent singles “Scorpio” and “Kudzu” hinted at what’s to come: sunny hooks, nostalgic country-pop chords, and a powerhouse voice that filled the warehouse with ease. It’s no wonder she played with Waxahatchee, a kindred spirit, earlier this year.
It’s not a true party without the art kids showing up to mix wickedly strong drinks and bring an edge to the evening, and that’s where Holy Mary thrived. Formed in 2018 when they were in eighth grade, the Brooklyn trio of singer-guitarist Helena Straight, bassist Mikaela Oppenheimer, and drummer Stella Wave reveled in making their alt-rock as gritty as possible. Live, it passed for early Radiohead by way of PJ Harvey.
Hello Mary primarily pulled from their sophomore album Emita Ox for the set, bridging the gap between noise rock, shoegaze, and brooding college rock. The Rolling Stone Artist You Need to Know alums were forbidding in a headstrong way — in fact, so self-assured during “Float” and the monstrous “0%” that when Wave launched into a scream during the latter, it was impossible to look away. Hello Mary had crafted an enticing gothic mood too intricate to risk missing any moment of it. Between their old grunge tint and their recent embrace of experimental instrumentation, Hello Mary were a modern band shoo-in for the Yellowjackets soundtrack.
Once the Beaches took the stage, they reestablished themselves as the popular group at the party who never turn down a dare. “If this is your first Beaches show, buckle up,” Kylie Miller said before kicking off “Shower Beer” and dedicating it to “anyone who got a little too drunk or anyone who’s gonna text their ex after their show.” Though undoubtedly catchy in its own right, the Blame My Ex cut positioned beside No Hard Feelings songs emphasized how much the Beaches have grown in these past two years. Their new songs were brash and bold, the type of pop songs for jumping on a hotel bed, but stemmed from a place of clarity — even in the rowdy context of their release show.
The Beaches enacted a little quid pro quo, offering a song about being too sad to masturbate (“Touch Myself”) and personal stories of oversharing as banter, in exchange for an audience member to reveal their own TMI moment. A nimble person named Michaela climbed onstage and took the mic to recount a tangled crush on their personal trainer and the time they word vomited on them. The Beaches graciously calmed the volunteer’s nerves and welcomed everyone to revisit their regrettable disclosures during “Did I Say Too Much.” (Consider it a mental exercise that cognitive behavioral therapists would give two thumbs up.)
The bumper sticker industry should take notes during the Beaches’ performance, especially if they’re looking for their next viral phrase. Maybe it’s the cheekiness of their delivery, but Beaches lines like “God, you’re a real piece of work/It takes one to know one” or “Dropped me like a trend, but I wore you better” perfect the art of comebacks with a lasting sting that double as self-praise. It wasn’t all feel-good callouts and airing out an ex on “Dirty Laundry.” Earl opened up about her own coming-out experience, revealing that she told her bandmates first, which eventually paved the way to write a song like “Lesbian of the Year.” Perhaps it was the most accurate moment of a massive house party that makes the story books: an earnest confession always squeaks out, making the ravenous fanfare of the evening that much sweeter.
“Rolling Stone Presents: Gather No Moss,” a multi-city rock & roll tour, sponsored by ~Pourri and iHeartRadio, makes its next stop in Nashville on Sept. 23, with Wet Leg headlining Marathon Music Works and support from Hana Vu and Mary in the Junkyard. The series comes to an end on Oct. 16 in Brooklyn, where MJ Lenderman takes Kings Theatre alongside openers Hovvdy and Annie DiRusso. The Beaches passing the baton onto the next date of the tour can only bode well, especially for those craving an evening of party pop fueled by rock energy.
Launch Gallery: Gather No Moss Chicago
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