Spotify has been a revolutionary service within the music industry. For better or worse, it has helped countless musical artists be discovered every day. It has helped me discover some of my now favorite bands to listen to daily. One artist that has come across my Spotify radio recently has been Taylor Acorn. She floats between multiple genres with her music but orbits the pop punk style the most. She’s embarked on her first headlining tour called the Good Enough Australia & US Tour. Playing her first ever headlining gig in Los Angeles at the Echo and bringing with her was World’s First Cinema. The line to get in was wrapped around the block with eager fans ready to show their support for their Taylor.

Opening the night was World’s First Cinema. With a name like that, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but the band brought a blend of sounds to create a unique experience. Vocalist John Sinclair has a powerful voice behind him that bleeds emotion. Pulling double duty by handling the violin at times as well, this added a more enchanting tone to the songs. Guitarist Fil Thorpe turns his axe into more than a standard instrument in the band. Sending the sound through pedals and modulators he’s able to add more texture to the songs. With a mission statement of creating a moviegoing experience in a live concert event, World’s First Cinema weaved a setlist of songs that could not be tied down to one genre. From EDM inspired bangers where you could imagine a montage of dance scenes. To dreamy folksy songs where I picture a heartfelt woman longing for her husband to return. To more traditional rock songs, letting you see into the mind of our lead actor going through turmoil. And even throwing in crowd sing along songs. That, if you’ve never heard the band before, the music was easy enough to pick up and start singing along to by the second chorus. For an opening band, World’s First Cinema took the audience on an emotional journey that no one could have expected.

Cramming 350 people tightly into the Echo to sell it out, the fans screamed as the lights cut out as we eagerly awaited Taylor Acorn to take the stage. Starting out with her song “Gray,” the song has a soft opening build that entices the crowd to draw them in closer to her, before taking off with the opening chorus erupting the crowd into a jumping frenzy. Taylor has such a charismatic voice with a brightness to it that you can’t help but smile seeing her perform. But even with that brightness, she can bring such raw emotion to her songs about break ups and depression. Taylor even shared a touching moment with the crowd, about how she was on the verge of giving up on music a few years ago before her mom gave her the push she needed to keep going. And how she is eternally grateful, because if it wasn’t for that push, she wouldn’t be on her first headlining tour playing to us fans who came out to specifically support her and the music she puts out into the world. It was a true emotional rollercoaster of feelings as we rode through her songs like “Wishing You Hell,” “I Think I’m in Love,” “Sticking Around,” “Coma,” “Basement,” “True Crime,” “Good Enough,” “Greener,” “Certified Depressant,” “Everything Sucks,” “In My Head,” “Psycho,” and ending with “Shapeshifting.” With the final song ringing out, the fans chanted for more music from Taylor. The house lights came on, and the fans continued their chants for more. Letting Taylor hear just how appreciated she is.

When I first discovered Taylor Acorn on Spotify, I thought I found another fun pop punk artist. Yes, she has her songs about heart break and tragedy, but there was still so much fun energy behind the music. But seeing her live, I finally connected with the lyrics and what Taylor was saying. I drove into Los Angeles that night thinking I was gonna have a fun Friday night to start my weekend. However, both World’s First Cinema and Taylor Acorn had me digging deep into my emotions and feeling more of myself than I could have ever imagined. It’s moments like these why I love to experience music live and always push my friends to see their favorite artists live. It doesn’t matter if you love their entire discography, or there’s just a handful of songs that you enjoy. The experience you could have connecting with live music should never be missed.