Live Review: Poppy at The Rooftop at Pier 17

On July 10, Poppy brought her 29-city Constantly Nowhere tour to The Rooftop at Pier 17 in support of her new album “Empty Hands,” released by Sumerian Records.

The post-hardcore group Thousand Below took the stage at 7:00 pm. They delivered a 30-minute set of metal-infused, guitar-driven songs from their latest release, Buried In Jade, followed by the metalcore band Landmvrks presenting a 40-minute performance of punk/hardcore rock from their album, The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been. These openers created a live show with intense moments that didn’t pull any punches. They set the scene for the evening for fans who came to experience a hard-hitting live tour to release the type of energy that can only be let out in a metal show. 

Poppy took the stage at 9:00 pm, opening with “Have You Had Enough” and “The Cost Of Giving Up.” She began her YouTube era in the 2010s and transitioned successfully to a music career in metalcore, selling seven albums and nine headlining and co-headlining tours with 3.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify. She connected with the audience through her visceral music that had people moshing, crowd surfing, and dancing. Her production design with two platforms towering over the general admission crowd suited the open-air venue in downtown Manhattan. The skyline was visible behind her, and the Brooklyn Bridge could be seen in the distance behind the stage. 

Poppy’s experimental catalog creates an immersive live show that brings an EDM influence to metal and attracts a diverse audience. Walking around the venue, there is a core audience of metalheads, spanning fans in their early twenties to mid-sixties. Poppy’s 1-hour set of 15 songs energized the crowd. The intimate venue of 3,000 people created an intense sensory experience that brought everyone closer to the artist. Her cathartic track “Concrete,” released on her third album I Disagree, performed early in her set, delivered a raw sound, intensified by the feel of the bass in the audience’s chest. Poppy’s performance demonstrated the sheer physical effort that it takes to deliver a show in the summer heat. Her hard-hitting vocals placed a grueling demand on her vocal cords and showed what separates the metal and thrash subgenres from pop/rock. 

Sticking to one stage platform most of the night, Poppy held the attention of the crowd with her backing band’s support through a selection of intense screamo songs from her catalog, such as “Eat The Hate” from her 2026 album Empty Hands and “The Center’s Falling Out” from her 2024 album Negative Spaces. The latter track immediately hit the audience in the face with raging lyrics such as  “Hell has no end, hate has no bounds, you’re breathing but the center’s falling out.” Tying these two songs together on the setlist highlighted the style of music Poppy wants to express on tour to give fans a release of heavy, intense energy.

Towards the end, Poppy performed her song V.A.N featuring the heavy metal band Bad Omens, which is her top-performing song on Spotify, accumulating over 82 million streams. She closed with her well-known song “New Way Out” at the 10:00 pm curfew, having left all of her energy on stage. Poppy’s high-voltage performance showed that her years of prior experience have made her an accomplished touring artist. 

Setlist

1. Have You Had Enough?
2. The Cost Of Giving Up
3. Concrete
4. Bruised Sky
5. Scary Mask
6. Crystallized
7. Vital
8. Negative Spaces
9. Eat The Hate
10. The Center’s Falling Out
11. Time Will Tell
12. V.A.N (Bad Omens cover)
13. If We’re Following The Light
14. Hallo
15. New Way Out