Photos by Mollie Menuck, Words by Mollie Menuck and Destiny Graham

As a long-time fan of Adam Melchor, it was an incredible honor to shoot his set at the Bewitched tour. Four years ago, I discovered Melchor when he opened for dodie on her 2019 tour. Since then, he has released not one but two albums and plenty of EPs and singles in between. 

During this tour, he has been focused on performing songs from his new EP, “FRUITLAND.” These songs included “SEROTONIN,” “ADELAIDE,” and “PEACH.” “FRUITLAND” serves as a melodic love letter to self-reflection. Melchor lets listeners get close to his homey psyche as he takes us down the trail of getting older and reminiscing on life, love and soul. Moments in time occupy Melchor’s songwriting process as he picks apart memories intertwined with deep, immeasurable feelings to create a world in which listeners can immerse themselves.

The lights shifted colors dynamically creating rheumatic storyscapes for each song. The oldstyle brick outside of the concert hall is romantic and charming, oblivious to the stories Melchor reveals tonight. Among the banter and the stories Melchor paints for the crowd, the mood is melancholy, comfortable even cozy.

He also played deep cuts from his older projects, including “itsjustmyheart,” a voice memo from his compilation album “Melchor Lullaby Hotline,” and fan-favorite classics like “Real Estate” and “Joyride.” The stripped-down versions of every song showcase his vocals and cheeky sense of humor that can go unnoticed when listening to a studio recording. Reminiscent of his solo tour, he opened the show with an acoustic cover of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” a callback to his cue song for the Here Goes Nothing! Tour and song “Dorothy.” 

Melchor opened the show and performed with the main act, Laufey, backing her up on vocals, guitar, and light percussion. Melchor has genuinely moved me every time I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him perform, tonight especially, being so nostalgic about the first time I saw him back in 2019. While he has proven he can bring down the house with epic arrangements, it was such a delight to see Melchor’s music in its purest form. Just him and his guitar.