Cartel
Theatre of the Living Arts
334 South St.
Philadelphia
Sept. 19, 2025
Nostalgia ruled the night as Cartel played a sold out show at Philadelphia's Theater of the Living Arts on Friday. Running back the album Chroma — their debut display of indie pop power — for its 20th anniversary, they had all the elder millennials in the crowd singing their hearts out. Myself included.
For an hour and half, three of the four original members of the band proved they still had that special sauce that grabbed us all 20 years earlier. It brought me back to my high school days, singing along to hit after hit on my CD player. I last saw Cartel perform in 2008, having gotten special permission from my boarding school to leave campus at night in a taxi to photograph them at a club an eighth of the size they played this go around.
“Damn that feels good. That feels real good,” singer Will Pugh said exasperated after playing a favorite of mine called ‘Settle Down." He couched his euphoric sentimentalism: “Right now... it won't later. Maybe take an ice bath. But woo. That felt good.”
As their set inevitably came to its conclusion, they surprised the crowd with two songs chosen by the crowd via a live online vote. But that wasn’t their last surprise of the night: “This is not the end,” singer Will Pugh stated, “this is the new beginning of Cartel. New record out next year.” With that, they closed out with one last song, leaving the crowd itching for more — and knowing there would be new music on the way soon for the first time in over a decade.
