NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
The last several years have seen the rise of female Asian American artists (perhaps not in mainstream pop music except for Olivia Rodrigo) in the indie pop and rock scene. This often overlooked demographic has found its voice, previously with the likes of Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, and more recently with Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, Mitsky, Rina Sawayama, Luna Li, etc. And we haven’t even touched on K-pop, J-rock or artists like Laufey (Iceland) and beabadoobee (UK). Sarah Kinsley is part of that new wave of indie pop artists but what makes her stand out is that she sings, writes, and produces all her own music. Deciding that she wanted to not only be a singer/songwriter but also be one of a new wave of female music producers, she took music theory at Columbia as a stepping stone to producing her own music, released her EP “The King” in 2021, and was on her way. After a couple of other EPs and a slew of singles, she released her debut LP “Escaper” in September and embarked on a tour across North America to support the album. On Wednesday, October 9th, she stopped at the Great Hall in Toronto.
Opening for Kinsley was another Asian American artist Ha Vay. The San Francisco based singer/songwriter has been has only been making music for a couple of years but released her debut album “Baby I’m the Wild” earlier this summer. Accompanied on guitars and vocals by Christopher Kenji and on drums by Orion Wells, Vay her baby doll dress exudes femininity and a free spirit. Her voice is lovely and her performance is very dramatic, full of sudden head and arm movements. Kenji’s baritone was rarely heard but a perfect match for Vay. Many of the audience members were already familiar with Vay and were singing along to her songs. For those who weren’t familiar, she definitely gained some fans. Check out her music on your favorite streaming service!
Click on photos to enlarge
Sarah Kinsley took the stage with a little dance to “Lovegod”. Even as a young artist, she seems to be a natural performer. In contrast to Ha Vay’s dramatic style, Kinsley is more expressive and displays the emotions on her face for everyone to see. This is evident as many of the song she writes are about fate, grief and loss. These songs obviously speak to the younger generation because they were out in force, singing along to every song (in fact the girl on my right was singing so loudly that I had to put my earplug in tightly so I could hear Kinsley from my left). About halfway through the set, Kinsley gave the audience the option to choose between two songs… “What Was Mine” or “Hills of Fire”. The crowd overwhelmingly chose “Hills of Fire” although I would have chosen differently.
Sarah Kinsley also did a wonderful cover of the Cranberries’ “Dreams”, a song I was surprised this young crowd knew all the words to. During the chorus, Kinsley sang the harmony and, with no one singing the melody, it felt slightly incomplete. One other issue I had was that,at times, the drums were too loud and could have been played more gently to match the vibe of the songs.
At the end of the set, when they came out for the encore of “The King” and “Oh No Darling”, Kinsley danced with wild abandon…think Ally Sheedy in the Breakfast Club…and the crowd went wild! A spectacular end to an amazing show. Her North American tour ends in NYC on the 16th so catch her while you can. You are in luck if you’re in the UK or EU since her tour there starts November 8th!
Click on photos to enlarge
