BEYOND THE NOTES
Photo by Sofia Valladres via Sydney Rose on Instagram
December 9, 2025 | Jodi Chung
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 2, 2025 – Amidst a sea of flower crowns and white skirts, Sydney Rose took the stage at Los Angeles’ Troubadour. From the warm lighting and twinkling fairy lights, to Rose’s honey-like voice, there began a beautifully intimate show in celebration of her most recent EP. The six song project, I Know What I Want, was released this past April and catapulted the Nashville singer-songwriter to the next level of her career. This tour is a testament to how talented she really is.
Stepping up to her garland-adorned microphone, she opened the show with a gut wrenching tune about the all-too-familiar fears of growing up: a song she calls “31.” She then transitioned into “You’d Be Stars,” one of her more upbeat songs about the joys of pure friendship. One of my favorite songs, my heart swelled as I witnessed everyone else in the crowd dancing with the best friends they came with.
With crystal clear vocals, she showcased her incredible songwriting skills in the next segment of the show. Touching on relationship troubles, she performed a recent single of hers, “I Stopped Trying.” She teased the crowd with an unreleased song, “Over,” excitement rippling throughout as she noted the collaboration with English singer-songwriter Tom Odell. From fan-favorite “Briston,” to the newer “Before & After You,” Rose continued to deliver utter vulnerability as she performed from a classically wooden piano.
A tour tradition that marked itself during the first leg earlier this year, the singer picks and covers a different song each night. Naturally, as the recent Stranger Things 5 fad has taken over every corner of the internet, Rose began discussing a recent fanmade edit she had seen to Harry Styles’ rendition of “Girl Crush,” a song originally by Little Big Town. A cover of a cover if you will, she sang her own version as Los Angeles’ gift, slowed to perfection in true Sydney Rose fashion.
She moved through more songs off of the EP, including “Dogs I Pass On The Street” and “Listen To The Birds.” Returning back to the piano, it was cathartic to hear the crowd sing along to the raw and painstaking lyrics of “We Hug Now.” After the song’s bridge saw massive TikTok virality in the beginning of this year, it has amassed nearly 200 million streams to date and is a must-see song live in concert. Rose ended the show with her newest single, “The Holiday,” and closed off with a poetic homage to her beginnings: one of the first songs she ever released, “idk what i did.”
There are so few doing it as emotionally honest as she is. Rose is carving her path as a dominating force in the upcoming generation of sad girls. Whether it be a devastating friendship breakup or the inescapable pain of nostalgia, she writes and performs in an exceedingly intimate and personal manner. This is only the beginning for someone so deeply genuine and talented as she is, and every show of hers is nothing short of spectacular.