Molly Santana Concert Review
By Dj Coffin / Joey Hider
On Aug 12th, upcoming Hip-Hop star Molly Santana triumphantly took the stage for a packed out San Francisco crowd celebrating the final show of her first headlining tour.
I had never been to the Independent before, and it shocked me how small the venue was, although it made for a very intimate performance. Compared to other underground shows I’ve been to, I think Molly definitely could have packed out a larger venue. Through interviews with the crowd, the most anticipated songs of the night were Windows Up, Not Regular, and Black Ops.
The first person to take the stage was Showjoe, who accompanied Molly for the entirety of the tour. I had never heard any of his music apart from his feature on Molly’s recent album, however, his energy was infectious. With music bridging the gap between electronic dance music and rap, he energized the crowd into a dance party. It’s not always easy to get the crowd going as an opening act and I was very impressed. His performance definitely influenced me to check out his music, and I discovered that he has produced on dozens of Molly Santana songs, including most of my favorite songs by her. We were also treated to a performance of an unreleased song, which he recorded that day on the tour bus.
After a brief intermission (very brief compared to most of the shows I’ve been to) Molly Santana abruptly took the stage.
Although she’s still a relatively new act, Molly has amazing stage presence. She’s clearly become comfortable performing after joining Don Toliver on his PSYCHO tour in 2024. Molly radiated positivity on stage, prancing back and forth with her signature “Aura Walk”, accompanied by a mysterious character in a black robe drifting behind her. Throughout the show she interacted with the crowd, showing love to her home state of California. I absolutely loved the way her setlist was constructed, giving balance between her more high energy tracks, with her slower and more poppy songs sprinkled in to give the crowd a break. While I did get squished in the pit a bit, this was definitely one of the better crowds I’ve been in and I never felt like it got out of hand. Everyone in the crowd seemed like genuine fans, and it was easy to transition between raging out and just vibing. For me, my favorite songs she performed were Not Regular, Windows Up, Nothing Like This, and Weekend. Like Showjoe, Molly also played some unreleased music. Although I was expecting a good show, she exceeded my expectations. One of the best shows I’ve been to in a minute. If you have the chance to catch a performance, I would definitely recommend.
This sounds super fun! How long did the whole show run for? How long has she been touring? What Genre does she play? I would love to know more about her music.
Thank you for this review! I can tell you had a great time at her concert along with her opening act. That’s so cool you were able to hear an unreleased song because not many get the opportunity to do so. I never listened to her songs before so I might have to check her out!
Amazing this certainly showed an amazing performer is truly coming into her own, this reviewed as a great job of making you want you look up show dates and book your ticket!