Rosalíe, Tyler Goldchain, Sophie Said
Cafe Nine
New Haven
June 23, 2025
Rosalíe Ortiz, known as just Rosalíe in the music scene, began her set at the downtown bar and music venue Cafe Nine Monday night with an intimate, emotional piece overlaid with voiceovers about how it feels to love being queer. The gravity and tenderness of her opener laid down a backdrop of love for the rest of her performance.
She shared the bill with New York’s Sophie Said and New Havener Tyler Jenkins, or Tyler Goldchain, who moved from the Elm City to Brooklyn a couple years before Rosalíe did the same in February. For Rosalíe, it was a return to the city where she grew up. With both Tyler Goldchain and Rosalíe back on the scene for the night, the show felt like it was from a different era.
Rosalíe melted into her unreleased track “The God in Me,” inviting the audience to know their worth while also noting that this “can be tricky depending on who you’re messing with.” In the introduction of another unreleased banger, “American Sweetheart,” she told the audience she would delve into the chaos, mess, and oppression of this country, “in a way that’s snarky and visceral.”
Near the end of Rosalíe’s time on stage, she exhaled some quick hopes she had for the people in the room. They were more than just floating dreams. Over the course of her set, she made sure they would come true:
“I want you to feel powerful.”
At times Rosalíe picked up not just her mic, but the mic stand itself as she leaned back to sing. It was an example of the how the indie alt-rock singer used her artistry to take total control of the moment. Everything could be both a set piece and an active element of the show.
Rosalíe’s instrumental backing tracks propelled the energy forward with strong, punchy beats as she switched between dreamy, sweet high notes and soulful melodies in a lower register. She giggled and kept it light between songs, but as soon as the music started she snapped right into the zone. This was her set, in every way.
“I want you to feel sensual.”
Rosalíe moved to her music with clean choreography accentuating not just the main beats but the subtle rhythmic patterns one might not otherwise notice. Like a supermodel, she knew her angles and how to make an interesting line.
She came to the stage prepared with a few unassuming toys. During one instrumental break, she took out a tube of lip gloss to reapply gloss in a dramatic fashion, to the cheers of the audience. She played with a handkerchief, taking it from her back pocket to hold in her mouth before draping it on the mic stand.
“I want you to feel free and brave.”
Rosalíe closed out her set with a cover of Mannequin Pussy’s indie punk hit “Loud Bark.” Before getting into the song, she practiced a sing-along section with the crowd, asking the audience to repeat, “I got a loud bark, deep bite,” each of the last four words a swing into the atmosphere. The crowd sang it a few times before Rosalíe said, “Now can you try screaming?”
We practiced more, this time shouting the words as loud as we could. Only then were we ready. Rosalíe began, a patron saint of performance before the activated crowd, and joined in the screaming at the end.
Her voice rang out clear and solid over the combined shout of “LOUD BARK, DEEP BITE” from everyone in the bar. In the sea of the crowd, I felt free and brave.
