NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
What do you do when your high school rock band’s members go to different colleges, making it difficult to continue to collaborate? Keep things simple with just two members and write some pop songs! That’s exactly what Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin of Magdalena Bay did when they got back together one winter break.
Named after a random admin who used to email Matthew, Magdalena Bay has been putting out poppy, beat driven songs with some of the darkest lyrics. “Good Intentions” is very much an electronic dance song but is also one of the saddest, about having a broken heart. The band had just released a new single “How to Get Physical” before their show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn.
The first opener was Dominic Sen, the alien alter-ego of Brooklyn songwriter Alexandra Lily Cohen. She released her debut LP “Visitor” back in October and had choreographed dance routines which she performed with each song.
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Second on the bill was South African guitarist and songwriter Sulene (van der Walt). At 28, she’s very much an established pro, having played guitar for Nate Reuss and Betty Who, as well as writing music for movies and television. She decided to go solo back in 2017 with her debut EP “Strange”. Living in Brooklyn, she has been performing and releasing music regularly; her latest single is “Out of Your Head”. This evening, Sulene would provide not only the instrumentation and vocals but the lighting as well.
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Magdalena Bay kicked off their session by playing a couple of their music videos on the screen. By the time Tenenbaum and Lewin hit the stage, the crowd was ready to party! Since the discography of this young band is not extensive, the set ended all too quickly, although the fans did give their dancing shoes a workout. Keep an eye out for Magadalena Bay’s next record “A Little Rhythm & a Wicked Feeling” due out in March!
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