Ashton Nicole Casey, known to her legion of fans as Ashnikko, played the Agora on Saturday night to an eclectic sold-out crowd. Much of the audience donned vibrant homemade costumes, making the whole affair look like an anime convention.
The rapper/performer played a ninety-minute set of her music, defined by many attendees as empowering, feminist, or as one twenty-year old proudly exclaimed, simply “lesbian.”
Performing with two backup dancers against a pre-recorded track, the ingenue addressed the crowd several times throughout the performance, thanking them for coming out and supporting the rising artist and her music.
While her staying power may be up for debate, the legion of attendees packed the rafters of the midtown venue, proving that for the foreseeable future, this young North Carolina-bred phenom isn’t going anywhere. Except up.
Opener Jordan Patterson sat behind a table with a DJ for an uninspired set of tunes. Her facial expression didn’t change much and she never once stood up to engage the crowd. While she has an entrancing voice, she didn’t connect too much with the crowd. Stage fright? It’s difficult to say, but acts like that tend to remain marginal. Stand up; look at the crowd and engage them with your music.
