The sweet-sounding vocals of indie-lo-fi pop artist Mxmtoon have traveled nationwide to support indie pop band AJR on their tour. Sprinkled in between, she performed a headlining show in the House of Blues San Diego on Saturday, July 13th. Fans were excited waiting in line, dressed coquette style in flowery dresses and bows. As concertgoers were talking amongst one another, Mxmtoon, also known as Maia was walking past the crowded line into the venue right before sudden cheers erupted. 

Backed by an acoustic guitar, Nep had fans singing and barking along to her songs as the only opener for the night. Throughout the entirety of the set, Nep had a smile on her face, laughing with the audience as she shared anecdotes on most of her songs. Every guitar string plucked felt up close and her transparent lyrics carried a sincere, yet humorous tone. Before performing a song titled “Pup”, Nep shared how when she was on tour with artist Grent Perez, she’d have attendees bark anytime in the song she’d say pup or dog. She then prompted the audience to do the same, and what followed were numerous howls and barks surrounding the stage. The wild antics kept fans ready for more following the set. 

Nep performs for House of Blues as an opener in San Diego on July 13, 2024. (Photo by Roman Aguilar)

Once the house lights dimmed, echoes of the popular song, “Prom Dress”, played on the main stage as Maia ran on stage and immediately asked the eager crowd of fans, if they were ready to sing with her. She mentioned being glad to be back playing a small show and hearing everything fans say, after performing at sold-out arenas across the country. Mxmtoon kicked off the night, performing one of her biggest songs not long into the set, the aforementioned Prom Dress. The crowd quickly crammed closer to the stage, as she performed the emotionally vulnerable song about feeling anxiety through social norms.

Mxmtoon makes a hand-calling motion while performing on stage. (Photo by Roman Aguilar) 

When the tone shifted in songs, Maia was dancing side to side on stage, encouraging the audience to clap along. Her setlist was a perfect balance between fan favorites that the crowd was singing every word for, and several unreleased songs including “I Hate Texas”, a song about an ex, and “Passenger’s Side”, a song about wanting to be, a passenger princess because who wouldn’t want to be. 

During a part of the setlist that contained exclusively acoustic songs, Maia pulled out her ukulele to play the beloved songs “cliché,” “feelings are fatal,” “blame game,” and “almost home.” With around five songs left in the set, she performed the song that she noted got her what she is now, “Falling for U.” The downstairs venue was illuminated in white shined lights as the crowd turned their phone flashlights softly singing along and swaying to the music. Just as the title suggested, San Diego fell for Mxmtoon that night. 

Mxmtoon plays ukulele while singing on stage. (Photo by Roman Aguilar) 

The set ended on a high note as Maia asked if there were any queer people in the audience before singing “Kaleidoscope”, a song that represents the feeling of celebrating yourself, and not being reduced to being in a boxed identity. Rainbow lighting filled the stage for the next song, “dance (end of the world),” as she instructed concertgoers to go lower to the floor before launching into the air and cheering while applauding. Before closing the night, Maia asked the audience, “Do you have the energy to give me everything you’ve got for these last couple of songs?” She concluded the show’s set with the dance-pop songs, “coming of age,” and “mona lisa.” The latter of the two had a wanting to be the main character in its songwriting, and want to be the protagonist in their life and accept who they are. The bubbly tune made for a wholesome end to an incredible show. 

Mxmtoon goes to the front of the stage to sing alongside audience members. (Photo by Roman Aguilar)