New Jersey-born singer and songwriter Cari Elise Fletcher, better known as FLETCHER, brings her In Search of The Antidote Tour to Music City.
The show took place at Marathon Music Works, a turn-of-the-century auto factory turned Nashville’s most unique concert and event venue. There was originally just one date but it sold out so fast they opened a second.
As the lights dimmed, the room exploded with excited fans screaming at the top of their lungs. Before making her grand entrance, the four-piece band took their places. After a short instrumental, FLETCHER appeared standing on a small, box-shaped platform at the center of the back half of the stage. As a video of Cari played on the LED video wall behind her, she opened the night with “Maybe I Am,” the first track of her new In Search of The Antidote album.
Her stage presence was magnetic, and it almost felt like she was teasing the audience a little bit as she performed the first two songs without leaving the platform. The rest of her performance held excitement at every turn. As she came down from the platform to the front of the stage, the lighting turned red and she performed “Serial Heartbreaker” from her 2022 album Girl of My Dreams.
FLETCHER’s discography is full of very catchy and very poppy songs, mostly discussing relationships, and this album was no different. The band continued the set with “Attached to You,” “Pretending,” and “Ego Talking”–all from the new album. Her mesmerizing performance showcased her unique blend of infectious melodies and deeply personal storytelling. It didn’t feel like Cari was singing to her audience, but singing with them. Her candid connection with the audience enhanced the experience, transforming it into a more intimate setting.
After performing “girls girls girls,” a fun and sexy take on Katy’ Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” Cari paused and announced that the next song would be voted on by the audience. Two meters appeared on the video wall behind her, one for “Healing” and one for “Feel,” to visually display which song the crowd would choose. “Feel” won the vote and the songwriter commented, “Yesterday, the girlies were healing, but tonight we’re feeling.” Not unexpectedly, it was a more intimate song, and the audience sang every word.
Approaching the end of the set, FLETCHER sang “Bitter,” the hit song that blew up after it was featured in the credits of an episode of The L Word: Generation Q. During the second half of the song, each member of the band performed an electrifying solo. Cari grabbed one of the video cameras and captured each solo as it was projected on the video wall in real-time. Not too long afterward, the band performed fan favorite “All Love” and seamlessly transitioned into a cover of Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable.” Following the performance, Cari took some time to read off some of the signs fans had made. The night became a whole lot more special following two successful proposals and hearing from a group that had driven all the way from Miami, through Hurricane Helene to be here. She also took a second to give credit to a gentleman who assisted in the writing of her first EP when she was in Nashville during her year off college.
The band ended the set with “Eras of Us” and “Antidote,” but after a few minutes of the audience yelling and screaming for her to do an encore, the five members returned to the stage. She sang “Doing Better” and “Becky’s So Hot.” Notably one of her sexiest songs, Cari knew that she was ending on a high note and finished the show exactly like it started.
FLETCHER’s got about another week of touring in the U.S. before hitting Australia. Her new album In Search of The Antidote is currently available on all platforms.
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