Folk-pop duo Babes in Canyon bring first headlining tour to Madison

Babes in Canyon brought their first headlining tour to Madison Wednesday night, with Brooklyn folk-pop trio Camp Bedford and Madison’s own Drive-A-Tron warming up The Annex for the Seattle duo’s debut in town.

The Annex sits in a slightly different category from most small Madison venues. The room felt a touch more “official” than the city’s usual stable of intimate spots, with a layout that takes a beat to figure out but works once the night settles in.

Camp Bedford took the stage first, and Madison turned out to be more than just another tour stop. It was the first night of their tour and their first time playing the city.

The Brooklyn-based trio of Roxanne Quilty, Mariela Flor Olivo and Kailey Bombara has built a reputation on hard-hitting harmonies and folk-pop songwriting that leans communal, the kind of band that wants the room singing along.

Drive-A-Tron, the indie-rock and dance project run by Madison’s Paul Vash, took the middle slot and turned the room over. Where Camp Bedford had pulled the crowd in close with harmonies, Drive-A-Tron brought the energy up with synths and the kind of pulse that gets people moving even when the floor is half full.

While there are many one-man groups, Drive-A-Tron pulled off something unique, combining live guitar and synth tracks with backing tracks synced to an immersive visual experience. Those elements combined with his infectious energy were the perfect bridge to Babes in Canyon’s headlining set.

By the time Babes in Canyon walked out, Drive-A-Tron had the room’s energy at the perfect level. The Washington-based duo of Nathan and Sophia Hamer have been on the road in support of their March single “Echo,” the first new music since their 2025 debut album “The New Loud.”

Wednesday’s stop at The Annex slotted between Chicago and Milwaukee on a tour that runs through late May and was the duo’s first time playing Madison. It also turned into something a little more personal. Sophia, born and raised in Milwaukee, told the room from the stage that “Madison is the city I wished to be from.”

Near the end of the set, crowd participation was encouraged. The audience was told two phrases to yell during the track “Echo”: “fuck that” and “trust that.” In this moment, it was clear that the song demands audience interaction, and that alone pushed it from a great song to an experience.

Seeing artists like Babes in Canyon on their first headlining tour is a unique and raw experience. Nobody knows what to expect. It’s the kind of show that you think about when artists go on to headline festivals or arena tours. The kind of set where you look at your friends and go “I saw them before they were big.”

Shows like this, bringing artists from across the U.S. together on stage with local Madison talent, show the strength of the Madison music scene. The combination of Camp Bedford, Drive-A-Tron and Babes in Canyon is the pinnacle of this experience.

The tour continues with stops in Boston, Pittsburgh and more, concluding in California in late May. Check out babesincanyon.com for more info, and get your tickets to a show so you can say “I saw them before they were big.”