Indigo De Souza was great, now she’s even better

Since going back to concerts in late 2021, I have only seen two shows at the Athenaeum — Knocked Loose and The Beths. They were not on the same set, but there was something endearing about that old Masonic Temple turned venue. 

Indigo De Souza was slated to be my third at the downtown venue until TempleLive, the company that acquired that venue and many other Masonic Temples turned venues shuttered it. Another casualty of venture capitalism as Beaty Capital, the turn and burn company that bought them, conveniently changed their tune one year after the purchase. 

“We are simply an outsider in an insider’s business,” Beaty said in an article by NBC4. A confusing quote from an outsider who knew they were an outsider before making the purchase.

Fortunately, most of the shows found a new home at Skully’s Music Diner, including Indigo De Souza with support from Mothé. So, Monday night my wife and I headed to the show, which is an amazing feat if you keep up with these Columbus Calling concert reviews. 

Monday was the second time in two years my wife and I headed to Skully’s to see Indigo De Souza, but this time was different. The April 2024 show was good, but Monday’s was better. 

After that tour, De Souza said in interviews that she was putting herself first. That meant putting a cap on the length of tours and making the kind of music she wanted. The kind of music that sounded good to her. Then De Souza’s Asheville, North Carolina home was ravaged and gutted by the horrendous flooding in western North Carolina in the fall of 2024. 

Before the flood and the lightened touring announcements, back in April 2024 at Skully’s, De Souza seemed worn down from the road. The chitchat between songs was minimal. De Souza told the crowd they were not going to play old hits because the new band did not know them. 

However, De Souza’s songwriting and singing on an off night is like OK pizza. It’s still great because it’s pizza. I do not pretend to know the rigors of touring, but I respect the workload of artists playing music for a living and it was still honestly a great show that I reflect upon fondly.

At Skully’s, two days after it was originally scheduled before venture capitalism did what it does, De Souza put on a fantastic show, and it started with the opener.

Mothé is a California-based alternative pop/electronic/experimental artist that grabbed the crowd’s attention sonically, even as they stood on stage with a keyboardist/guitarist accompaniment. 

The artist who’s name is like the bug with an “é” at the end, according to the singer themselves, started with “Total Popstar,” off the August 1, 2025 release of the same name. 

“I’m not a rockstar, baby I’m a pop star,
You could sell my spit in a tiny little bottle,
Used to be an empath, now I’m just an asshole,
Used to date a nice girl, now I’m with a model.”

There is no part of the stage safe from Mothé’s movement. Whether wielding a guitar or only a microphone, energy exuded from the pop star. Between songs, Mothé chatted with the crowd, explained songs and even did the infamous “O-H” known by anyone with a pulse in Central Ohio (something they did because a Skully’s employee told them to do it).

Music has moved far in the electronic direction, which sometimes hides a lack of a personality for an artist. That does not apply to Mothé. The songs are catchy, unpredictable and got the crowd moving as I watched from a spot on the small balcony. 

It also got De Souza moving, who was up in one of the two artist perches that hang on the corners of the stage. De Souza moved, easily noticeable with her long and bouncing hair. 

On an older track with a name I can’t remember, Mothé forgot the words twice and no one seemed to care. I know I didn’t because it was a fantastic set full of personality. On the tracks that included electric guitar, Mothé played that great too. 

As a people watcher, there was one fan up against the stage who knew every word of every song by Mothé. The artist noticed too when they went up to the fan, knelt down, and held the fan’s hand during a part of a song. It’s great when the artist knows there are people there watching and acknowledges it. 

Before the show, I knew one Mothé track (more on that later) but the “Total Popstar” LP is now heavy in the rotation. 

De Souza came out to the opening track of the 2025 LP “Precipice.” “Be My Love” is a gentle track that starts with De Souza’s airy voice at a higher register. Then De Souza, along with her four-person backing band, move into “Wasting Your Time” off of 2023 album “All of This Will End,” a juxtaposition of the opening track, with De Souza slamming on power cords between verses. Once again, hair flying as the singer strums halfway bent over while hopping up and down.

Most of the set came off “Precipice” as it was called the Precipice tour, which is great because the album is a treat. However, De Souza did mix in three previous albums, a new track and an unreleased song. Also, De Souza played four more songs than last year.

There was one song that did not make the setlist last year that De Souza included on Monday. “Always” from “All of This Will End.” It’s a track that starts soft and loving, then erupts. De Souza and the band hit heavy riffs, De Souza screams and sings lyrics about the father who abandoned her.

“Father, I thought you’d be here,
I thought you’d try,
I thought you’d stay.”

 

All the emotion of the track filled the space, but it was a moment before the song that showed how De Souza protects herself. How that work she does to heal works. 

De Souza set up the song by telling the room that her dad left her as a child. As is the case in any concert room, there was someone who thought that the rest of the crowd wanted to hear them and they yelled “F—- that guy!” 

After a smattering of support from a small sector of the room, De Souza corrected them and told the crowd how after writing “Always,” she forgave him. Also, to continue paraphrasing, that she loves him and that he’s a cool person. 

Then, to continue the overall good feeling of the night, a feeling De Souza said she felt from the crowd throughout the evening, the singer called out a dad who brought his two daughters to their first concert. 

While last year’s concert showed a guarded De Souza, Monday night showed someone who, from my outsider perspective, was genuinely happy. Through heartbreak, which De Souza talked about during her set, the rigors of the road, a devastating flood and more, she came through the other side. 

 

De Souza also played my favorite track “Heartthrob” from the new LP. A song I have consistently called the song of the summer since its release. 

Near the end of the night, Mothé returned for their single “Serious,” a track the two wrote the first time they hung out together. De Souza shared her love for Mothé and could not help but smile when they joined her on stage. 

For the encore, De Souza told the room that Monday was the last of that iteration of the setlist for the tour, on only night two. That is due to a band member that needs to leave for the remainder of the tour. So, to end the night, the band chose a song they wanted to play — an unreleased track. 

It was great, like the entire night.