Review by Beau Croxton with photos by Mike Golembo

Sunflower Bean Live at Warsaw by Mike Golembo

Sunflower Bean is fresh off of the release of their 4th studio album, Mortal Primetime. The record is a large stride in a fantastic direction for the group, as it combines the many things that the group does so well- it also is brimming with super catchy tunes. On Thursday May 22, Sunflower Bean held an album release show at Warsaw in Brooklyn to celebrate, and we caught the show in all its glory…

(Check out our cover story interview with Sunflower Bean to hear a bit from them on the record among other things !)

GIFT opened the night, bringing a great energy with their neo-psych and shoegaze sound. The band is outstanding and they have been making quite a name for themselves, both locally and on tour. They are supporting Sunflower Bean throughout the majority of their Mortal Primetime tour dates moving forward.

The stage was set for Sunflower Bean with lit-up candles, statues of angels and baskets of white roses- keeping things right on target with their Mortal Primetime aesthetic. “Guess” by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish blared over the speakers among plenty of other pump-up jams as the anticipation grew.

SHAKE

The band came out dressed like stylish vintage rockers, much to the excitement of their hometown audience. Nick Kivlen dressed in a sheer paisley shirt, and Julia Cumming wore a all-white ensemble with tall boots. Julia shouted with excitement before kicking things off- “We are Sunflower bean from New York fuckin’ city!”

The band opened with “Champagne Taste”, an immediately satisfying and catchy rocker from Mortal Primetime; it served as a perfect kick-off track to get people excited. It also got guitarist Nick Kivlen shredding right out of the gate, to the delight of many.

“Lucky Number” doubled down on the heavy rock vibe, with vocalist/bassist Julia Cumming belting in harmony with the straight rock n’ roll exuding from the stage.

Sunflower Bean by Mike Golembo

”Teach Me To Be Bad” came next, with its “I Love Rock and Roll”-style fuzzy bass-riffing and its John Bonham-esque drumming from Olive Faber. It’s a cracking tune with some of the meanest riffing the band has in its repertoire. Guitarist Nick Kivlen stole the show with his masterful Brian-May like guitar solo; he’s incredibly skilled and it’s clear he pulls inspiration from many of the greats.

The band threw it back to the pop of Headful of Sugar with “Who Put You Up to This?”, and led the show into the lighter areas of their discography. “Look What You’ve Done To Me” and “Take Out Your Insides In Front of Me” continued this lighter arc from the softer half of Mortal Primetime. The tunes were paired with melodic bass lines and lush vocals.

The band then invited a friend up (named Jenna) on stage to perform cello on “I Knew Love” and some other tunes. The cello brought a new emotional glow to the set, and it made things just that much sweeter.

Sunflower Bean Live at Warsaw by Mike Golembo

”There's A Part I Can’t Get Back” was easily the most stunning performance of the night. It's an incredibly vulnerable and deep song with gorgeous choruses- Julia performed it straight from her soul. She elevated her vocals to wild heights for the very last chorus and outro, surpassing the already great studio rendition. It was a real show stopper; the song’s weeping guitar leads are even better live. Julia’s vocals were spot-on the entire night— even through all the head banging, rocking out and bass playing; she is an absolute pro-vocalist through and through.

Other tracks like ”Twentytwo” from their sophomore record Twentytwo in Blue got the crowd singing along with its nice vocal harmonies. Sunflower Bean then invited GIFT on stage to do a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes”, which was a really wholesome highlight of the night. Julia took over vocal duties and let Kallan of GIFT take over bass duties. The rest of the Gift members contributed guitars, keys and other verses. Everyone on stage sounded great and was having such a great time, it was contagiously cheerful.

“Nothing Romantic” was another major highlight as well, with the band clearly saving one of the most anthemic Mortal Primetime songs for a huge peak late in the set. It’s a very well-written tune and the sing-alongs resonated through the whole venue. The band closed the main set with their shoegazey track “Sunshine”.

Sunflower Bean featuring GIFT at Warsaw by Mike Golembo

ENCORE

The band kept mentioning a guest speaker throughout the show , and it was really surprising when mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani came out as a surprise guest. He received roaring applause. He encouraged folks to get involved in the upcoming election and to vote for the “New York we deserve”.

Momdani asked the crowd if they wanted more music, and Sunflower Bean returned for a 1-2 punch encore of “Easier Said” and “Somebody Call a Doctor”. The latter track featured segments that raised the tempo significantly into a huge, glorious, and shredding jam session that prompted headbanging.

Sunflower Bean by Mike Golembo

In a rare moment, the band did an additional encore of “Shake” from their exciting. fuzzy EP from 2024 of the same name. Julia shouted “Alright motherfuckers, this song is called SHAKE!”. The Drop tunings and sludge-y riffs of “Shake” were a killer way to end this show. Julia shouted “Let’s goooooo Warsaw” on the last chorus, hair flipping, head banging and rocking out as hard as possible. It was a total blast- the crowd had such a great time, but it was the band’s kick-ass hometown energy that made the night truly special for all.

Check out the setlist and Gallery by Mike Golembo below!

All photos of Sunflower Bean by Mike Golembo