Dear rouge
Midway Music Hall
Edmonton, Canada
By Megan Veldhuis
Royal Foundry, an alternative-pop band from Edmonton, kicked off the show for them on Saturday night. With Bethany away, it was Jared Salte and Robbie Szabo who took to the stage, and they delivered an electrifying start to the night. They truly brought the energy to Midway and the crowd loved it!
After sharing an emotional story of Bethany and Jared having to evacuate their home due to a fire last year, the duo played their new song “I Give Up”, which was released two weeks ago. When releasing the song, they posted “It’s not a song about quitting. It’s about surrendering to the moment, letting go of what you can’t control, and focusing on what you can—your mind, your resilience, your next step forward.” That really resonated with me. At the end of their set, Robbie surprised everyone by pulling out a cello and playing it for the last couple of songs.
I’ve heard there’s a competition between Edmonton and Calgary to see which city can cheer and sing the loudest at concerts. Well, I may be biased, but I think Edmonton won this competition on Saturday. The moment Dear Rouge stepped on stage; the crowd was cheering. The band played all the fan favorites; “Fake Fame”, “Live Through the Night”, “I Heard I Had”, “Not Afraid to Dance”, and many more. Dear Rouge was extremely interactive with the crowd, which the crowd just ate up. During “Not Afraid to Dance”, lead singer Danielle McTaggart brought up four volunteers and danced on stage with them. She even jumped into the pit to dance near the end of the night! The special acoustic rendition of “Live Through the Night” was captivating and emotional. Danielle McTaggart had SO much energy all night, with engaging costumes, dance moves, and dynamic control over her voice. Dear Rouge put on a captivating and effervescent show, and I can’t wait until the next one!
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