Concert Review: Trousdale @ 9:30 Club (5/16/25)

Trousdale (Photo courtesy of Big Hassle)

“What a difference a crowd can make!’ – Trousdale

Trousdale enlivened the DC music scene on May 16^th with an energetic night of colorful and harmonious pop-country, much to the delight of many. Some eager fans welcomed the trio to the 9:30 Club with about as much fervor as one might expect at a Beatles concert in the 1960s. Multiple young people near me were having the time of their life, in the form of dancing* and singing along like no one was watching. Why the hell not do whatever makes you happy? They certainly did.

This was an early show, and although I didn’t check, I will assume it was also sold out based on the magnitude of happy people. Trousdale is touring for their second album, 2025’s Growing Pains (via Zula Records). They went all in on new material, performing nine (of the 12) album songs for the raucous 9:30 Club crowd.

Trousdale is Quinn D’Andrea, Georgia Greene, and Lauren Jones (along with two backing band members in white overalls). They are from Los Angeles, and conveniently picked the band’s moniker from a LA street sign. Lauren and Georgia met at USC during a songwriting class, and later brought in Quinn to initiate a formidable trio that has grown into a big deal over the last few years. They started releasing eloquent pop-tinged country singles in the early 2020’s, and debuted their first album called Out of My Mind in 2023.

Recently, part of their band identity is to each use a different color when they perform, or for press and music videos (maybe in real life as well). Quinn rocks green hues, Georgia goes with pink, and Lauren with blue. It is another way to express their own personalities with a distinctive flair, and it brightens the stage performance. All three shared vocal duties and played different instruments during the set, switching frequently between lead vocals or sharing them in unison. While one would sing to the rafters, the other two polished the song with liberal amounts of the smoothest harmonies ever to grace your auditory system. As to their collaborative approach to making music, Quinn explained in a press release, ‘We’re all adding to each other’s ideas, drawing from personal experiences and then expanding them into something more people can connect with.’ It was clear that they were having fun and were in awe of the crowd’s reaction. The trio clearly has been perfecting their style and sound over the past few years, and were certainly worthy of the crowd’s adoration based on the 9:30 Club show alone.

For the opening act, three artists performed together (Beane, Nia Ashleigh, and buffchick), each taking turns to showcase their own songs. All were great. buffchick enthused about all traveling with Trousdale on the bus between cities and joked, ‘They smell really good if you’re wondering how they smell.’

Trousdale kicked off the show with two songs from Growing Pains. “Lonely Night” is about escaping loneliness after a bad year. If there was any doubt by anyone about anything related to Trousdale, those doubts faded away as they serenated the lyrics, ‘and it wasn’t my year last year, I barely made it out’ followed by the palpable chorus that brought chills (presumably). Next came the album’s namesake, with a roots stomping feel that also gives off hints of HAIM in a good way. Maybe a better way.

“Movie Star”, the first of five songs they played from their first album, was one of the standouts. Georgia introduced it as ‘their only love song’ and ‘It means a lot to us. Some couples have told us that it was their first dance.’ It is a touching tale laid bare through their rich harmonization. It is about someone that is on top of the world for love, and their partner is the most famous person in their life.

During “Any Day Now”, an upbeat 2021 single, Lauren sliced her finger on a bottle she was drinking from. As the crowd loudly voiced their appreciation for the song, Lauren held up her finger and announced the deed. Georgia reacted with surprise and went to help (there was blood). Quinn, behind her keyboard, used the unexpected silence to provide a bit of solidarity with her bandmate, by telling us about the time she chipped a tooth on a cruise. As they started “Wouldn’t Come Back”, Quinn added ‘Let’s get serious about asking for a band aid.’ One was produced almost immediately.

Trousdale gifted their fans 19 songs in total, for an early 9:30 Club show. One of the drawbacks of an early show is the looming deadline, in that there is no hope they could just sing for us all night. DC has been a regular stop on their tours, five times already since 2023, including their first show at The Atlantis (where music begins – the perfect way to introduce a band/artist to DC). All the evidence supports the claim that many at the 9:30 Club have been admiring their work ever since.

During “Sleeping at the Wheel” the backing band took a break while the ladies went acoustic. They explained the song came together as a result of Lauren ‘literally struggling with the fear of falling asleep while driving’. But it is also a metaphor for coasting through life and faking your emotions.

Later they added a nice ode to the movie and/or musical Wicked with a medley of short snippets from three of the soundtrack songs, including “Defying Gravity”.

Near the end of the main set, another song from Growing Pains “Over and Over”, elicited big cheers from the crowd. The harmonies came in unison and each layer of vocalization told a different element of the same story, that they do not care how well any of their exes are doing, and do not want to hear about it either.

Once the crowd cheered itself silly and they returned for the encore, Georgia told us to strap in for “The Ick”, a secret song only on the vinyl. It is about a feeling you get for someone when you learn one thing about them that bothers you, and it manifests into a million things that bothers you.

The hauntingly beautiful “Last Bloom” was the final song from Growing Pains (performed acoustically) before the tragic endgame of the show in the form of “If I’m Honest”. They split the crowd into thirds (one section for each member) and everyone cheered in turn like no one was watching. Obviously my section (with Lauren) was the loudest. No doubt.

Head over to your favorite music buying situation and spend money on Growing Pains, or just stream it if you already bought too much music today. Buy it tomorrow, and then check out Trousdale the next time they tour through DC. All signs are positive it will happen.

Setlist