Almost a year to the day after their sold-out 9:30 Club stop, Caroline Rose returned to DC, still in support of the critically acclaimed 2023 album The Art of Forgetting. But while their 2023 visit was a full start-to-finish performance of the LP, they gave equal footing to their past discography this time around, showcasing their lighter-hearted antics and songs that many long-time fans still cherish.

Rose and company have taken huge pride in making an intricate set on a tight budget, and their latest tour setup was no different. Projectors tilted sideways displayed home videos in a vertical format, shining through multiple transparent screens in a diagonal pattern to create a unique back half of the stage. Up front, Rose performed with an acoustic and electric guitar by their side, while the band performed in a circular pattern around them, silhouetted by the bright projections behind them.

The projections of Florida and childhood recordings anchored the first half of the set, dedicated to the very vulnerable The Art of Forgetting, written during the time of a relationship ending and a family member passing away. Their voice rang beautifully on “Everywhere I Go I Bring the Rain,” a highlight of the night.

Halfway through the set, Rose switched focus to their older tracks, songs like the campy “Bikini” off of 2018’s LONER and “Do You Think We’ll Last Forever” from 2020’s Superstar. The two albums were showcases of their sardonic and witty writing style that became a calling card of sorts for them. While The Art of Forgetting is an unforgettable album, it’s great to see Rose put both sides of their writing style on equal pedestals for this closeout tour of this album cycle. (And it’s always fun to see someone crowdsurf across the venue too.) Rose proved that they don’t need to be seen as just a sarcastic lyricist or a ruminating, self-incriminating one – they can be both, or somewhere in-between, and now that they’ve re-set the stage, the sky’s the limit. Listen to Caroline Rose’s latest album below.

Opening for Caroline Rose was La Force, whose latest album XO SKELETON was released in September 2023 through Secret City Records.