Review: Langhorne Slim + Rayland Baxter at The Commonwealth Room

Langhorne Slim and Rayland Baxter co-headlined an unusually intimate concert at The Commonwealth Room on Friday (8/8/25). While it wasn’t a sold-out crowd, it proved to be an immediately devoted one. Langhorne Slim opened the night and immediately fell into his role as a poetic troubadour, offering both stories and songs about the crumbling state of the world, politics, his child (“Song For Silver”), and even the afterlife.

By the time he’d dragged a wooden chair out to the middle of the floor and stood on it, belting out a short burst of music that included “Past Lives,” we were done for. He delivered the latter with an appropriate amount of ferocity (and without needing a microphone); it’s highly possible the crowd collectively fell in love. As far as set finales go, it’s hard to believe he could have left on a higher note.

Baxter offered an incredible 13-song set of originals that included songs like “Strange American Dream,” “Freakin Me Out,” and “Rubberband Man” before inviting Slim back for one more. The two joined forces on Slim’s “The Way We Move”—one and done, leaving the audience wanting infinitely more—but nobody left unhappy. They knew they’d witness something special, and more than one person called it one of the best concerts they’d ever seen. Period. That’s just got to be the exact kind of praise a performer wants to hear. 

Photo gallery by Natalie Haws – Beehive Photography. Instagram @beehivephotovideo

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