Girl Tones brings headliner energy to San Diego
SAN DIEGO — “Is it just them?” said someone in the audience when Girl Tones took the stage on Feb. 6 — as if to ask, “Where’s the rest of the band?” She was probably just as baffled when the duo began their set with the sound and presence of a well rehearsed four-piece.
San Diego was the band’s eighth stop on their nine-night run supporting Dexter and the Moonrocks on the West Coast.
“The goal of the opener is to make sure the crowd is nice and warmed up,” said singer and guitarist Kenzie Crowe to an audience of about 1,000 at San Diego’s House of Blues. “The question is, do you like heavy shit?”
Located between C Street and Broadway with entrances on Fifth and Sixth Avenue, this House of Blues location is in a rough part of downtown. But once inside its doors, concertgoers enjoy furnishings and artwork similar to the other 10 locations across the U.S.
All-American Rejects drummer Chris Gaylor once described the House of Blues as “the Chili’s Restaurant of live music venues” — nothing special, but reliable nonetheless.
“We drove all the way from Kentucky to be here tonight,” said Crowe between songs. “The journey was crazy; our van broke down twice.”
Originally from Bowling Green, Kentucky, Girl Tones embodies the no-frills, riff-heavy spirit of guitar/drums precursors like the Black Keys and the White Stripes. It should come as no surprise that the sister duo frequents Nashville, the home of Jack White’s Third Man Records, for one-off shows close to home.
Opening bands have the unfavorable job of rousing a crowd that came to see someone else without asking too much of them. Girl Tones did not seem to have that problem.
“If I start to see not so much clapping, I will stop the song,” said Crowe, “and that is not a threat but a guarantee.”
Girl Tones will tour the Midwest in support of Peter McPoland in March before playing such festivals as SXSW, Treefort and Bonnaroo — with many more throughout the summer.
“One of our favorite things on earth is playing shows,” said Crowe in a May 2025 interview with Youngster Year. “We’ve already hit incredible bucket list things and are grateful for every single one.”
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