Concert Review: Cavetown at the House of Blues in Boston, MA

The cold and misty Boston evening of the concert. Photo taken by Elsa Scott.

The crowd of people waiting to get into the House of Blues stretched down the block, around the corner, over the David Ortiz Bridge, and then turned again down Newbury street. As my cousin Max and I walked the half mile to take our places at the end of the line, wishing we had worn our jackets in light of the gusting wind and hazy mist that had settled in the streets of Boston that night, I looked at all the people we were passing. They were young; almost every person appeared to be under the age of 25, with the exception of occasional parental chaperones for the elementary/middle school-aged fans. I saw brightly-dyed hair, jewelry adorning necks, fingers, waists, and arms, flannels and cardigans being clutched close (we weren’t the only ones to forgo a jacket for the sake of fashion), converse, doc martens, and platform boots shuffling forward on the wet pavement, and a few trans pride flags wrapped around people’s shoulders. By the time Max and I get into line behind a girl wearing sage green balloon pants tucked into white cowboy boots, I know that this is going to be a fantastic show. 

The Boston House of Blues. Photo taken by Elsa Scott.

Tonight, we’re seeing Cavetown, with openers Addison Grace and Tessa Violet. Cavetown is the professional moniker of 23-year old Robin Daniel Skinner, an English singer-songwriter, record producer, and YouTuber. The son of a professional flutist and Cambridge University’s director of music, it seems like it was inevitable that Robin would be drawn to music. Cavetown’s music is brutally honest, heartbreakingly vulnerable, and painfully relatable. Operating within the realms of indie pop, indie rock, and bedroom pop, the songs simply, yet also eloquently, illustrate everyone’s desire to understand, and be understood by, the world and people around them. As a transman, many of Cavetown’s songs speak to the struggles of identity and knowing who you are. His sound is raw and DIY-esque, paying homage to his homegrown origins. 

Photo of Cavetown from Spotify.

Cavetown started a Youtube channel when he was only 14 years old, uploading covers, original music, short vlogs, and more. The videos of his originals are more than just a young Robin simply singing to the camera and accompanying himself on guitar or ukulele. They’re music videos, filmed and edited by Cavetown and starring himself, friends, and his hometown in Cambridge, backed by fully produced mixes of the songs. The content that wasn’t covers or originals served the purpose of letting fans get to know him and see behind the scenes. There are livestreams, Q&As, advice videos, and a series of videos called “Cavemail”, wherein Robin opens fan mail while chatting about anything and everything. In the beginning of this video, a phone alarm goes off, notifying Robin that it’s time to eat lunch. He lets us, the viewer, know that he’s already done it, leaning in close and baring his teeth, saying, “You might notice I’ve got … I might have some popcorn in my teeth.” This level of familiarity creates the feeling that we’re hanging out with an old friend, one we can tell our secrets to and ask advice from and make memories with — and that’s what fostered the level of devotion from his fans that Cavetown enjoys today. 

Tessa Violet opening for Cavetown. Photo taken by Elsa Scott.

The devotion of the fans is so clear from the moment we step into the venue. The line for merch trails back almost to the entrance of the venue, despite the booth being right next to the stage. Whenever the openers mention Cavetown, the crowd goes crazy. Addison Grace is the first opener. They’re an American, 20-year old, non-binary singer-songwriter and social media star. Their music falls mostly under the genre of bedroom pop, with soft, atmospheric effects, simple strumming guitar melodies, and choral backing vocals. Their live performance, however, was just the artist and their guitar up on stage. Grace’s voice is sweet and crystal-clear, rising and falling like a bird soaring through a gentle breeze. The crowd sings along to the singer’s most well-known songs, “Sugar Rush” and “I Wanna Be a Boy”. The latter reflects the singer exploring their gender identity and realizing the pronouns that best suited them were he/they. It’s a very vulnerable and soul-baring song, very similar to the kind of songs that Cavetown writes. It’s easy to see the connection between the two artists; Grace has said that both Cavetown and Tessa Violet, the second opener, were influences on their art. Tessa Violet is an American singer-songwriter, YouTube personality, and former model. She used to be a prolific vlogger under the username Meekakitty before shifting her focus over to music and rebranding under her own name. Unlike Cavetown and Addison Grace, Violet picked up guitar and songwriting in her early 20’s. The transition from internet personality to musical artist was clearly the right move for Violet; singles released ahead of her debut album Bad Ideas went viral on YouTube and TikTok, and she now has over two million monthly listeners on Spotify. Her music combines electronic music, contemporary pop, and the raw attributes of acoustic guitar to create an exciting and arresting sound, one that lends her songs an ear-worm quality and universal appeal. As a live performer, Violet is captivating. She exudes a highly contagious energy, dancing around the stage and engaging with the audience. She’s accompanied by Dante Cimadamore on the bass and Jess Bowen on the drums. The three of them look like they’re having the absolute time of their lives up there, which influences the audience to have fun as well. By the time Violet’s set wraps up, we’re pumped up and ready for Cavetown. 

Photo by Jim Leatherman, taken at Cavetown’s Orlando House of Blues show.

While waiting for Cavetown, somebody in the crowd near us holds up their phone, the words “Does anybody have water? Pls help” displayed prominently in all capital letters. Not long after, employees of the venue start passing out water bottles from the front of the crowd, starting a water brigade. People at the front keep passing the water bottles back, and chains start to form, with the same people reaching up to take the bottles and pass them (I was in one such chain; I lost track of how many water bottles I took and then passed back). People were laughing and cheering — shouts of “hydrate or die-drate!” rang out to resounding applause. The excitement over the water brigade quickly transforms into anticipation and pent-up impatience for Cavetown to appear. 

Cavetown performing at the Boston House of Blues, with the clouds in the background on display. Photo taken by Max Keeler.

I’m struck again by how much these fans love Cavetown; cheers and shouts of “We love you Robby!” erupt each time a person steps out on stage to check the instruments and amps. His band members get themselves situated first, and when the man himself runs out on stage, the roar is deafening. No introduction, they go straight into their first song of the night: “Fool”, from his 2018 album Lemon Boy. The audience knew which song it was just from the first couple strums of the guitar, and were singing along word-for-word. I had only heard Cavetown’s music in passing, and I was clearly an outlier in this crowd. People around my cousin and I were swaying, arms around each others’ shoulders, as they sang their hearts out. On the stage, giant flowers are illuminated by lights in their centers, and bright blue clouds shine from the backdrop behind the band. The lights on the stage during this first song are blue and purple, and throughout the rest of the show we see the stage illuminated with green, pink, and yellow. The stage decor and lighting emphasize an atmosphere of playfulness and almost child-like enthusiasm. Once “Fool” comes to an end, Cavetown starts talking to the audience. He’s quick to give appreciation and thanks to his opening acts — which, in my opinion, is a sure sign of good quality character. He then thanks us for coming to see him, and for waiting in line outside in the gross weather. He pauses to listen to some people shouting near the front.

 “Almost two hours?!” he exclaims, horrified. “Are you guys ok?? I wouldn’t be able to wait that long out there, it's gross out!!”

Someone yells out, “I’ll wait for you forever!” and laughter ripples through the crowd. Cavetown laughs too, but he presses on, still concerned for our well-being. He asks if we need water, and the audience eagerly tells him about the water brigade. Then, someone catches his attention. 

He asks, “Is that for me? Are you sure?? It’s so beautiful I couldn’t take it from you, but can I borrow it for the show?” The person obviously approved, and Cavetown leans down and takes the outstretched offering. 

It’s a homemade hat, with a floppy brim, in a shade of magenta. He puts it on, thanks the audience member, and then we’re back into the music. 

Cavetown, performing with his acoustic guitar, wearing the hat an audience member handed him. Photo taken by Max Keeler.

The next three songs are “Fall In Love With a Girl”, his most recent release, “Guilty”, from his latest album Man’s Best Friend, and “Frog”, a new song. After playing the new song, Cavetown jumps up and down and says, both to his bandmates and to us, “I didn’t mess up any lyrics this time!” His excitement is mirrored in his fans; they cheer wildly and shouts of adoration frequently occur throughout the whole show. Any quiet moment, someone wants to take their chance of being heard and acknowledged by Cavetown. 

He takes a second to pause after his fifth song, “Lemon Boy”, and check in with the audience again. He tells us to give him a thumbs-up, and to wiggle the thumb at him to let him know we’re doing ok. Looking out over the sea of wagging thumbs, he giggles, and says, “They look like wormies,” and wiggles his thumb back at us. 

The next song, “Green”, hit me like a bus. The chorus, paired with gentle harmonies to emphasize its message, goes, “You looked so good in green / I hope you're well / And you look so good with him / And I'm proud of you still.” The lines are delivered with the sweetest sincerity; any bitterness about what is lost is soothed with compassion and selflessness. 

After hearing the chorus the first time all the way through, I immediately felt a tightness in my chest and an intense wave of an emotion I can’t quite find the words to describe but brings me to tears. I think it was brought on by feeling so seen, understood, and reassured. That’s what makes Cavetown, and his music, so special. His songs are diaristic in their vulnerability and honesty, and he talks about various aspects of the human condition — love, heartbreak, nostalgia, incompatible friendships, finding oneself, navigating expectations, mental health challenges, and more — with simplicity and eloquence all at once. 

Cavetown performing “Home” while holding a large trans pride flag. Photo taken by Elsa Scott.

After “Green”, I sang along with everybody else (as soon as I picked up the words to the chorus). My cousin Max took pictures and videos until his phone died, to save as much of the show as he could for later reminiscing. Cavetown continued to take breaks in between songs to talk and check in with the audience, chatting with us, laughing, and repeatedly thanking us for being there to see him. Nearing the end of the show, a trans pride flag appeared on stage; I didn’t see if someone handed it up or if it was onstage the whole show, waiting for the right moment. Cavetown held it up as he sang “Home”, a song about the struggles of finding yourself but the joy of realizing your body is starting to feel more and more like home. It’s a poignant reflection of the challenges and the rewards of exploring one’s identity. The final lines of the song are sung by hundreds of voices in unison: “Time is slowly tracing his face / But strangely he feels at home in this place.” Before any of us were ready, the lights came up, Cavetown and his band got into a group hug, then took a dramatic group bow, and finally waved goodbye as they ran offstage. Nobody moved a muscle; we all knew what to do. We chanted “Encore! Encore!” until the band runs back on stage, the lights turn red, and they launch into “Devil Town”. It’s one of Cavetown’s most upbeat, high-energy songs, and we jump, yell, and clap along. As the song comes to a close, bubbles erupt from inconspicuous bubble machines on each side of the stage, floating out over the crowd and filling the venue. It’s a playful, exuberant display, and the perfect finishing touch to a wonderful night.

Cavetown and his band in a group hug at the end of the show. Photo taken by Elsa Scott.