Here is the kind of Wednesday night that makes the workweek worth pushing through: Carsie Blanton, one of the sharpest and most galvanizing singer-songwriters touring right now, is playing The Song & Dance in Syracuse on October 21st. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the show starts at 8:00. And if her fall run is any indication, get there when they open the doors — multiple dates on this tour have already sold out.
About Carsie Blanton
Twenty years into a touring career, Blanton is hitting what feels like a momentum peak. Based in Philadelphia and drawing on activist-artists including Nina Simone and Woody Guthrie, she has built a sound that critics describe as “folk-based music that prizes wordplay and an antic sense of humor.” That description barely covers it. She pulls from jazz, Motown, vaudeville, power pop, and punk rock — music that feels genuinely alive in a room. Her smoky vocals have been compared to Nina Simone and Billie Holiday; her songwriting economy to Cole Porter.
Her latest record, The Red Album Vol. II, dropped January 2026 — a collection of short, charged songs written in the tradition of anthems “to inspire courage, defiance, and revolution,” with background vocals from Irish folk duo Ye Vagabonds. If you already know her viral tracks — “Little Flame,” “Rich People,” “Ugly Nasty Commie Bitch” — you have a pretty good sense of what the room is going to feel like when she digs in. She performs either solo with electric guitar or fronts a four-piece band.
The Venue
The Song & Dance holds 200 people. It is a bar and music venue at 115 E Jefferson Street in downtown Syracuse — an intimate room that suits a performer who rewards close attention. For more on the space, head to thesongdance.com.
Tickets & Pricing
This show is presented by After Dark Presents. Ages 16 and up are welcome; those under 16 are admitted with a parent or legal guardian. Get Tickets