Ava Maybee • Annika Rose • Sabrina Fair • June 2, 2025 • Kilby Court
Reviewed and Photographed by Amelia Weyerstall
The excited energy flowed through an intimate crowd at Kilby Court on the cool summer night. Ava Maybee, American Idol alum and daughter of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer, Chad Smith, headlined with Annika Rose and Sabrina Fair making the night one to remember.
Sabrina Fair
The Utah local, Sabrina Fair, gave a soulful and warm performance to open the evening. Her vocals had the crowd swaying along to each and every song. Her band also included very talented musicians, including an amazing trumpet/trombone player who added a whole new dimension to the music. The audience loved the songs “Camden Yards” and “Woo!” both of which got the audience dancing along to the beats. When Fair played “Be Apologetic” it was clear that it was a very meaningful song to her and the lyrics really hit deep with the audience members.
Annika Rose
Annika Rose has the stage presence of a superstar. Rose started off her set getting the crowd involved saying, “Alright, I’m going to ask one thing of you all tonight. The music is not that deep, it’s not that serious, it’s actually just an opportunity to have fun. You see me, I have this little patch right here to kick and scream, and move, and I’m going to do it, and I don’t want to be alone, I really don’t want to be alone. So if you can come dance you know!”
One of the biggest hits with the crowd was an unreleased song “Take Off”. It got everyone loosened up and moving around. Rose then shared “It’s dry here. I was at a show where I forgot water and it was 105 degrees and it was Boise, and I literally had to drink someone’s Long Island iced tea in the front row.” This got the audience cracking up and laughing at the predicament.
Rose’s interactions with the crowd made the audience feel included in her performance. Rose said, “I have a question though, how many of you guys have ever dealt with a like supervillain type of guy, girl, someone who really just stole your light from you. And your floating through like a little butterfly and someone comes and tries to squash you, and you have to work really hard to earn your light back and sort of rebuild the foundation that kind of crumbled from under you, yes, what the f*** I know.
You know what, I’m really glad it happened last year, in New York because I got an EP out of it that came out last week and I love it, and I went, screw you, new york boy! And now I get to sing it in this room with you and I’m so lucky to do that.” It was a sweet moment that had the crowd relating with the song and with Rose’s experience.
There was another sweet moment with one fan in particular. “Oh guys I’m star-struck right now, this beautiful woman, I’m sorry to put you on the spot right now, we have been DMing since i was 14, almost a decade, and I’ve been waiting to meet you and see you and hug you in person and if I stand right here for any longer im going to start crying, thank you so much for being here. Life is crazy! Do you want to get married? Just kidding.” Her attention made the fan feel super special and had both of them near tears.
Rose and her band had super high energy and the perfect accessories to match. Rose had a bowtie made out of other ties and her bandmates both had white ties with Rose’s face all over them. After asking the crowd who was excited to see Ava Maybee, Rose shared a heartfelt message with the crowd, “speaking of Ava Maybee this is my first tour and I am beyond, beyond honored that she trusted me enough to participate in her first headline tour and giving us the space for it to be messy and ugly while also being beautiful and I am just so grateful.” Rose’s high energy performance definitely rubbed off on the crowd and definitely got them ready to see Ava Maybee.
Ava Maybee
Before the show even started Ava Maybee was embracing Salt Lake City by showing up with a Swig before the performance. A few girls waiting in line asked Maybee about her drink order before telling her how much they loved her music.
Maybee’s whole aesthetic is so cute and whimsical, the merch consisted of berets with embroidery, a gorgeous pic of Maybee on the drum kit, and flowers attached to the main mic stand.
Maybee came out onto the stage and said, “Are we ready to have fun? Salt Lake City what is good!? I am so excited to be here. I love Kilby Court. This is… we are gonna have a good night” The audience shouted lots of “I love you!!!” and cheers to the singer in response.
The stage presence Maybee exudes and the interactions with the crowd felt like it was almost having a conversation with a great friend. Maybee shared many stories with the audience about the songs and why they were written. It was a very intimate experience and Maybee was very vulnerable about her music.
The most meaningful moment had to be before playing the song “Puke”. “I wrote this next song about having crippling anxiety!!! Y’all got that, anyways I didn’t think there would be any reaction to it because it’s a little silly but then people started to react to it. I feel like it’s really important to be have an open conversation about mental health and your struggles and if your struggling just know you’re not alone, we all have it and the way you deal with it is your own business but the way I deal with it is through song, and so I hope you feel less alone from this song, no crying!”
Maybee also had a very cute and wholesome moment with a fan in the front row, saying “I’m loving your energy, girl I love you way more, you have no idea. I’m obsessed with you, you look like a real life Barbie, omg you look beautiful, omg I’m like the Barbie that people like color on, that’s my Barbie vibe.” It was also a fun nod to the Barbie movie released a few years ago.
Later in the night a very special duet cover of “I Kissed a Girl” originally by Katy Perry was performed by Maybee and Rose. The audience was screaming the words and didn’t stop jumping along to the beat. It was an absolute party.
Just before the night was over Maybee announced she would be hosting a little tour tradition called the Maybee Awards. Three crowd members would answer a question and Maybee would choose the winner that would receive a prize. The question for the night was “What was the worst red flag you ignored on a date?” The winner was a girl whose boyfriend was staring at Maybee at a previous show instead of wanting to be with the girlfriend. Maybee gifted her the award because she felt bad for being sort of involved, and the award given was a tiny golden trophy. It was a super cute tour tradition that connected the crowd to the performers beyond just watching them play.
Maybee ended off the night by playing one of her hits, “Color” which ended the night off on a high note.
