underscores @ Radius

Performance 06-19-2026 | Written 06-22-2026

Radius is a repurposed warehouse a few blocks west of Chicago's Chinatown. It's a large and imposing venue that can fit thousands of people and I have never seen it more full than it was this past Friday. April Harper Grey, creatively known as underscores, is a rapidly ascending artist that blends hyperpop and midwest emo into a high-energy barrage of sound. The Galleria tour honors her third studio album, U, which was released this year. When put against her previous body of work in 2021's Fishmonger and 2023's Wallsocket, it becomes a rock-solid three-album run filled with inspired songwriting, strong and catchy instrumentals, and lyrics that burrow and stick. Prior to this concert, I had not actually listened to U front to back, but have looped her first two albums plenty so I was familiar with her sound and knew what to expect. The show was originally supposed to be at Chicago's Metro, a venue with a capacity of just over 1000, but underscores drew enough demand to upgrade the space. This upgrade was absolutely needed as she almost managed to sell out Radius in what she said was "the biggest headlining show [she's] ever done," with a crowd of over 4000 fans.

To warm up the fans, frequent collaborator and producer umru took the stage for an hour-long DJ set. Donning a headlamp, he bathed the crowd in flashes of red and white light and blinding visuals on the screen behind him as he spun song after song from his catalog. He interacted with the "U-Lights" handed out with the VIP tickets, which were handheld batons that look like the water tower from the Fishmonger cover. They had a remote control in them that made them light up different colors based on what song he was playing. The crowd's energy picked up early and did not dissapate while he played, which was impressive from an opening act.

Once umru finished and after a brief intermission, the lights at Radius dimmed and the screen on stage flickered on to a live feed of underscores in the green room. As she walked down from the green room on screen while singing the jovial-sounding "Point A," the crowd drowned the area in cheers. The song is an open letter to her fans, asking everyone to take their phones out -- especially those in the back -- and capture the moment. A large portion of people clapped along with the instrumental as she took the stage with a burst of energy. A crowd favorite of hers is "poplife," a collaboration with umru with a booming electronic backing and infectious vocals. It was the third song she performed, with the backing visual being a "live umru reaction" that showed a feed of umru reacting to the performance just off the stage. She performed every song from U alongside some older cuts from Fishmonger and Wallsocket such as the introspective and grandiose "Del mar county fair 2008" and the incredibly catchy and upbeat "Stupid (can't run from the urge)," whose "stupid, stupid, stupid" refrain is still stuck in my head a few days later. When songs would hit their recognizable choruses and crescendos would peak, the U-Lights would light up and create a colorful mosaic above everyone's head. I'm 5'8", which serves me well enough to be able to see over people just enough to get a good picture of the artist at concerts, but I found myself glancing over and watching the crowd around me at points due to the U-Lights. Hits from her catalog were mixed with an unreleased track called "Unlimited Love" and slower songs, where she brought out instruments such as guitars and keyboards to vary the energy of the set. The setlist culminated in her 'final' song: "What A Girl Gotta Do," a slow build with drawn out vocals where she killed all the lights except for a bar of light which she wore on her back. With the venue's fans blowing onto the stage, she looked like an angel descending onto the stage. I saw her do the same act at a Danny Brown concert I went to last year, which felt more intimate due to the smaller crowd. However, her performance at Radius felt much more grandiose: an artist surrounded by light baring her soul for upwards of 4000 people created an ethereal feeling that could be felt throughout the venue. After the track finished, she left the stage without having played some of her most popular songs such as the abrasive and fun "Spoiled little brat" from Fishmonger and bass-driven masterpiece "Music," her most famous track from U.

I put 'final' in quotes earlier for a reason, though. Not one to upset the fans, underscores came back for a six-song encore, which is the longest I had ever seen. The crowd did not miss a beat as the aforementioned top-streamed songs from her catalog were performed, and screams of joy erupted within the first notes of each. These two songs were joined by "1-800-FUCKOFF," another umru product alongside arist kimj, and the rest of the U tracklist. The setlist can be found on a few playlists around streaming services. As the glittery final notes of "Music" faded out and underscores finally left the stage for real, the crowd broke out in an array of affirmations -- "we love you, April!" and "un-der-scores" chants were ones I heard amongst general woos and shouts of approval. Getting out of the venue was, surprisingly, not awful, and three days later I am still bumping songs from the setlist. The show was smaller than a stadium concert, but by far the largest standing-room concert that I've been to. The large crowd was a lovely group to be around, and I had a truly excellent time.