Karina Rykman and her band brought the heat to their New Orleans debut. That heat from the stage mixed with the heat from a sold out Blue Nile 1:30 a.m. crowd caused her bass to melt… literally. Towards the end of the set, Rykman informed the sweaty crowd several of the frets on her bass had melted. Undaunted by the unprecedented turn of events, Rykman shrugged it off making the most of the working notes on her guitar.

There was no warm up period for Rykman or the crowd. From the first note of “Joyride,” the pace didn’t slow the rest of the night (or early morning). Rykman, with guitarist Adam November and Chris Corsico on drums showed off the precision they’ve developed playing these songs on the road. Rykman pal Marlo Shankweiler joined the festivities for “Skylark/Slow Lark.”

After the show Rykman expressed her gratitude via Instagram. “So beyond grateful to get to play New Orleans with my band for the first time! Thank you endlessly for selling it out and brining your insane energy from 1:45 am – 3:45am!”

This show is a perfect example of what’s ahead for Rykman. Yes, she’s still the always smiling and bouncy Karina everyone loves. But when Rykman hits the stage, buckle up. Corsico’s pace on the drums seems impossible to maintain for an entire show. So fast and continually diverse it will grab your attention immediately. He has also joined Rykman as the drummer for his “cousin” Marco Benevento’s band. November, a techno-wizard, is just getting started creating unique tones and effects to run through his guitar. His guitar playing is already very good. As that grows combined with the technological elements he can create, the sky is the limit.

Rykman has numerous festival gigs on her schedule. Amazingly, she still hasn’t released her long overdue debut album which should be announced at any time. Below is the setlist for Rykman’s Blue Nile show. There’s also a video of concert staple “Pepper” as well as Rykman frolicking in the crowd and spinning around the stage on her back as only she can.

Blue Nile 5/6/23 – Joyride, Plants, Arbitrary, Dirty South, City Kids, New Song, Pepper, Chaise Lounge, Skylark/Slowlark, No Occasion, Psycho Killer, Hardest Button, Atom Dance (w. Family Affair), Elevator.