Annie DiRusso is “Back In Town” in Chicago at Thalia Hall

Annie DiRusso brought her “Back In Town” Tour to a sold-out crowd at Chicago’s Thalia Hall on June 6, 2025. She took the stage at around 9pm to a rousing singalong, err, chant to her track “Derek Jeter”. DiRusso is a quirky one, that’s for sure.

Clocking in at about an hour and 10 minutes, DiRusso performed songs from her debut studio album: “Super Pedestrian”, which was released this past March through Summer Soup Songs. The singer appeared onstage in a white button down, black skirt along with stick straight hair and blunt bangs. Not to mention very bold, attention-grabbing dark eyeshadow.

“Do you know any good ass movies, Chicago?” DiRusso teasingly asked during the bridge of “Good Ass Movie”, being sure to name check “Twilight”, to which the millennial crowd agreed via a round of applause. She also nonchalantly mentioned that, prior to being a solo artist, she was in a band, but was kicked out. Throughout the show, Annie also professed her love of Chicago.

I loved DiRusso’s dry sense of humor throughout, offering matter-of-fact explanations on what her songs were about: “This song’s about repeatedly hitting myself over and over …it’s called “I Am The Deer” as well as the memorable, “this song is about when I finally started wearing pants” regarding the appropriately titled, “Wearing Pants Again”. She could be your best friend having a conversation with you, where you’d both be reminiscing of making goofy (and sometimes poor) decisions in your 20s.

I had heard of Annie DiRusso and when I saw her perform on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on May 1, 2025, I knew I had to see her live in person! And she certainly did not disappoint!

Over the course of her set, it was just Annie DiRusso and her backing band. Like SAMIA, zero outfit changes nor complex choreography. None of that was necessary. DiRusso ended her show with a soft acoustic version of her song “It's Good To Be Hot In The Summer”. The audience left in awe as DiRusso played guitar behind her head.