REVIEW: Angelina Valente brings second-hand nostalgia to LUNA
01/13/25 @ Mount Ida Preservation Hall, Troy
All photos by Debi Gustafson
“It was as if we were all sitting around a bonfire, listening to our friend Angelina sing us songs and tell us stories.”
More often than not when reviewing a show, I have my phone at the ready and my Notes app queued up to make note of anything specific worth including in my article. (For those of you that don’t know me, I have a terrible memory). But it was quickly evident walking into Mount Ida Preservation Hall on Monday night that that would’ve been the antithesis to everything that the LUNA series, now in its second season, is all about.
Curated by Natalie Seagriff and dubbed as a “night of music and healing”, the whole point of the full moon-inspired monthly series is to just exist in the moment. And what a moment it was. It was almost a bit unnerving looking around to see nobody in the audience with a phone out, everyone just present, taking in Angelina’s breathtaking performance. There was a lot of secondhand nostalgia throughout the night – we’ll get to that in a moment – but I couldn’t help think about the fact that this is exactly how I went to concerts growing up. Maybe my friends and I brought in a disposable camera to document some of our teenaged shenanigans, but other than that, we just took it all in. Isn’t that the point?
Refreshing doesn’t even begin to describe the whole experience, which was compounded even further by the ambience. Not only was Angelina surrounded by candles – as is the typical setup for a LUNA show – but the grand piano she played for half her set was also adorned with candles, something she pointed out as “very Phantom of the Opera,” garnering a laugh from the uber-respectful crowd. As a self-proclaimed theatre nut, it was clear she appreciated this on multiple levels.
On a personal note, I’ve gotten to know Angelina a bit over the last couple years, and I’m happy to call her a friend. I had an incredible, candid conversation with her for our December print issue about mental health. I watched and cheered from the audience at Proctor’s last year as she won three well-deserved Eddies awards for her incredible album, Sing, which she played a number of songs from Monday night. And I’ve had numerous conversations with her in private that find us “working through shit” about music and life and everything in between. She has a knack for dropping truth bombs like “no one thinks about you as much as you do” (something she reminded us of mid-set last night).
That was a very long-winded way of saying, not only am I a big fan of Angelina Valente the musician, but also of Angelina Valente the person. With all that in mind, it occurred to me though that – somehow – I had never actually seen her perform. My only regret is that I didn’t make more of an effort to do so sooner.
As alluded to above, Angelina split her set between piano and ukelele, her voice remaining the constant factor linking the two. It was as if we were all sitting around a bonfire, listening to our friend Angelina sing us songs and tell us stories. She interspersed fan-favorites like “Riverside” and “Charting a Course” with fun anecdotes from her past about working in an old art studio her mom once owned, and witnessing a woodpecker banging its head into a metal shed right outside a window in her parents’ home. Despite not living through these moments of her life with her, it felt as if we had. See? Second-hand nostalgia at its finest.
We were even treated to two new songs that she claimed were works in progress. The ukelele-led “Protect Your Heart” was especially impactful, with themes of not feeling shame or weakness over prioritizing self-care. I didn’t look around, but I’m willing to bet there were a few leaky eyes in the audience for this one.
The absolute highlight of the night however was when Angelina played her latest single, “Take Me Back.” She politely requested some audience participation – a move that can easily backfire! – and we all joined in with gentle voices for the choruses, some even feeling bold enough to harmonize on the spot. Ahh. This is what healing sounds like. It was clear Angelina felt the same.
“Everything about it was different than I expected,” she told me after the show. “They really curate that space to make it what it is for the artist and the audience. It’s a labor of love and you can see that so clearly.”
The whole experience cemented the fact that LUNA is an absolute must-see concert series here in the Capital Region. Natalie and the Mount Ida team have created something special, unique and yes, healing. For an hour and a half each month, audience members get to know an artist on a more vulnerable level. Honestly, I like to think we got to know each other a little bit as well.
For more information on the LUNA Series, including the schedule for the rest of 2025, visit https://lunaseries518.com/ and then go experience a show for yourself. For more information on Angelina Valente, visit https://www.angelinavalente.com/.
