Waxahatchee played Roadrunner – 6/21

Singer/songwriter Katie Crutchfield finally brought her Saint Cloud tour to Boston last month with support from Ohmme. 

2020’s Saint Cloud was a big record for Waxahatchee. Since breaking through to a degree of indie-verse fame with the lo-fi folk confessionals of 2012’s American Weekend, Crutchfield’s band/moniker has grown into a progressively more polished project, and four albums later, Saint Cloud feels like the culmination of that journey. Its more pronounced country and Americana flourishes combine with some of Crutchfield’s most inspired melodies and strongest songwriting to date in a record that hit home for many. The early-pandemic drop date granted it a particular power too, I think. Who wasn’t in need of music that sounded so bright and, dare I say, hopeful that spring?

That timing also delayed any touring behind the record of course, but some bad luck kept Boston waiting even longer than most cities. Crutchfield called the evening something to the effect of the most rescheduled gig of all time from the giant stage at Roadrunner, on the other side of town from the initially-announced Royale date. Enough time and demand relocated June’s show to the brand-new, much-bigger room in Allston, and a sizable crowd pretty well filled it.

Predictably, the focus of the setlist was heavy on the Saint Cloud songs, which Crutchfield and her four-piece band are clearly still psyched to be playing. There was little in the way of nods to the project’s earlier, more downcast days, though a few vintage tracks re-recorded for 2018’s Great Thunder EP did make appearances. Waxahatchee gigs have never been the most dynamic live shows – comes with the territory of gentle folk-rock, really – but the songs sounded lovely. A pair of thematically appropriate covers (from Lucinda Williams and Dolly Parton, to close the night) rounded things out nicely.

Scroll down for a gallery, including openers Ohmme, whose ping-ponging pop melodies and harmonized slow burns made for a great lead-in.