Concert Review: Aidan Bissett Rocks Out in a Cardigan and a Crop Top at 3TEN
With support from Anna Shoemaker, indie dream boy Aidan Bissett found his inner rockstar this past Tuesday at 3Ten Austin City Limits.
Written by William Beachum
Photos by Carolyn Parmer
Aidan Bissett is an artist who makes indie-pop music for Gen Z.
He initially started producing music for a small audience out of his Tampa, Florida, bedroom. Tiktok has found him a brand new audience through soundbites and compilations, propelling 2020 hit “More Than Friends” and 2022 sensation “Tripping Over Air” to a whole new audience of teenagers and young adults. The viral lyrics “She likes boys who play guitar / Tattooed arms and a beat up cart” firmly established Bissett’s brand as a rebellious, tattooed teen heartthrob from the jump. Riding off of this online fame, Bissett spent the last year doing almost 60 shows as an opener for indie-pop acts Valley and Lauv. Now, the 21-year-old singer has released his first full project, Supernova, and is on the road for his first headline tour. His third stop was his Austin show on October 17, where Bissett — with support from indie singer Anna Shoemaker — rocked the stage at 3TEN.
At 8:01 p.m., Shoemaker whirled onto the stage sporting a skin-tight black top and a short brown bob. Right off the bat, she displayed her knack for groove with “It’s Depression,” a toe-tapping, momentum-focused song with emotionally-powerful lyricism. She successfully transitioned into three more intimate tracks,”Mariah”, “ADHD,” and “666,” which showed a darker side of her persona. Even with a disappointingly low-energy audience for these tracks, Shoemaker performed exuberantly; Shoemaker’s interactions with close friend and guitarist Richie Quake were infectious, with their physical and musical rhythm providing delightful synergy.
“This song is about having a crush,” Shoemaker mentioned before performing her 2019 single “If You’re Going, I’ll Go;” she began to move more freely across the stage. This newfound bouncy, light stage presence led the audience into her fantasy, loosening them up and creating a breezy ambiance Her sing-songy, loose approach to the chorus lines “We could get high / I’ma ride by your side / If you’re going I’ll go / If you’re going I’ll go” showed off her carefree attitude. After the rebellious, sprawling “Mariah” and new single “Not Coming Home,” Shoemaker ended her set on a strong note with powerhouse ballad “Holly.” As Shoemaker left the stage, she gave fans stickers and complimented their outfits, making her way to the merch table near the stage.
Bissett calmly walked onto the stage at 9:00 p.m. and kicked off with the airy “All that I’m Craving.” Shimmying around the stage in a dual-patterned cardigan, a white crop top, and form-fitting dress pants, this opening track brought back a taste of summer. While audience members swayed and sang along with the first song, “Out of My League” was a shock to the hearts that kickstarted the crowd. With the ending instrumental breakdown, guitarist/bassist Grant Mcmanus and Bissett shredded their electric guitars, feeding off each other’s dynamism as sound boomed throughout the venue. This vigor led into the final chorus, in which drummer Fionn Roche pounded a finishing beat that sent shockwaves into the crowd while Bissett stood center stage, drowning in strobe lights. “Out of My League” supplied the energy to give the following track, “Ultraviolet,” the power it needed to strike a chord with the audience. This slower track gave Bissett the proper moment to show off his vocal prowess, with the final soaring, throat-y, riffs reminding the audience he is much more than just a pretty face.
As the backing band smoothly transitioned to the jazzy groove, “I Can’t Be Your Friend,” concertgoers basked in Bissett’s heartthrob appeal. Bissett made an active effort to help the audience feel like he was singing the song about them, shifting eye contact between different audience members as he seductively sang, “I can’t be your friend / I can’t control myself.”
While “I Can’t Be Your Friend” felt much more like a conversation due to Bissett’s intense stage presence, “Twenty Something” gave the Floridian heartbreaker back control. Bissett showed off his good sense of pace as he transitioned into the first chorus with a long, air-filling silence amplifying the hit of the drums and the smack of the bass.
Bissett exhibited his knack for audience interaction with highlight track “A Song For Her.” In a rose-colored ambiance, Bissett delicately crooned to the audience, singing “Cause all I have is you / and now your tension’s breaking through;” his voice carried a soothing quality reminiscent of a lullaby. The song reverberates with a light guitar finger strumming on the verses before a reverb-soaked Bissett comes in with a primal yelp, from the perspective of the titular “her” For this moment, the guitar tones become harsh and muddy, reflecting the anguish of the narrator. The cardigan-wearing crooner then insisted that he “wanted to hear the audience screaming,” which came out as a tonally awkward but cathartic release from the audience.
Bissett hit a lull in his performance with “Different” and “Worst Girls of all Time.” This string of his older tracks failed to entice the audience as much as his newer material; however, Bissett’s guitar skills were out on full display for these tracks, with the passion he brought to his vocal performance shifting to his electric guitar plucking. Bissett’s tone was aggressive but not muddy, with a fuzzy intricacy collaborating with his angstier vocals. Bissett then made another pop detour with “Communication” before hitting the peak of the night with “People Pleaser.”
Bissett described the creative process of his song “People Pleaser,” as “just having fun and playing around with music again,” representing the loose and sprawling vitality he gave 3TEN concert goers throughout the concert. The track’s drums sound like a racing heartbeat, pounding sporadically and short. These drums were supported by a repeated earworm of a brassy guitar tone. Bissett’s vocal performance was completely uncensored, with a scratchy, eccentric, hopeless tone emblazoning a guttural delivery. With a punchy neon green and red lightning setup, “People Pleaser” gave a glimpse into the realized rockstar persona of Bissett. His head-bangs, impassioned facial gestures, and magnetic body language channeled the liveliness of a boy screaming in his bedroom. After a few more songs, Bissett put on a cowboy hat lovingly offered to him by a fan and then found a serene moment with “Bloom.” The deep blues of the set lights covered Bissett’s skin as he showed off his powerful but light falsetto. His deep, rich bass tones offered a contrast from his breathy falsetto as he switched between the chorus and lyrics, resonantly singing “We were falling in love / that’s so naive / your name on my necklace / and your heart on my sleeve.”
With no encore, Bissett introduced “Tripping Over Air” as the last song of the night. The popular song acquired over 30 million streams on Spotify, making it a crowd pleaser. He reveled in this popularity, taking a photo with his screaming fans to include them in his excitement. Before the final chorus, Bissett built a sense of intimacy by cutting off the rest of his band. Bissett got up in the audience’s face, almost falling off of the stage, before showing them the microphone and having them sing the chorus they know and love. Fans new and old were able to bond over the hit and earned the reward of hearing their voice among others.
Tuesday’s performance presented Aidan Bissett as more than just another throwaway viral TikTok musician. The dark-haired loverboy does not have the back catalog yet to carry him through an entire hour and a half set without lulls in attention. But, the twenty-one year old has made an incredibly smooth transition between opener and main act, with the help of an all-star band and a rabid fanbase. He has the potential to “Bloom” into a full-fledged Gen Z rockstar, which he gave glimpses of at his show at 3TEN Austin City Limits.