CONCERT REVIEW/INTERVIEW: The Ivy At EXIT/IN

If you didn’t think Oklahoma could produce dreamy synth-pop, think again. The Ivy is the indie-pop duo made up of Wyatt Clem (singer/songwriter/guitarist) and Shawn Abhari (songwriter/synth player/bassist) based out of Tulsa that and formed in 2017. They’re now also joined by drummer Jordan Lynch on their tour. The band’s lush and emotive sound has drawn comparisons to indie-pop legends The 1975, garnering them millions of streams across all platforms.

This past Saturday night, The Ivy brought their signature 2014 Tumblr-core nostalgia to iconic Nashville venue, EXIT/IN. The warm spring kicked off with a high-energy set from the local Nashville band Drive Drive, followed by Lyncs. I have never seen two openers match the headliner’s sound and vibe so well; all three blended seamlessly, creating a cohesive synth-pop, alt-dreamscape that was thoughtfully curated. EXIT/IN, one of my favorite venues, added to the intimate evening with its cozy atmosphere.

Shawn Abari (left) and Wyatt Clem Photo by Austin West

The Ivy opened with “Hurts Just Right” off their 2022 EP Look Inside, setting the dreamy tone of the night. Their stage setup featured mood lighting lamps, giving off the feeling of chilling in a bedroom. They made sure not to skip over fan favorite “Have You Ever Been In Love” that has over 23 million streams on Spotify alone. A special moment came when they brought Lyncs back onstage for their song, “Don’t Fall Asleep To This.” I loved seeing their connection, and it was clear how much work they put into the track.

Another highlight for me was their well-executed cover of Clairo’s “4EVER.” As a Clairo fan, I thought their interpretation was beautiful and unique. Wyatt’s guitar solos and riffs stood out throughout the set, and it was fun to see him in his element. They closed with their hit “Gold,” wrapping up the concert with upbeat energy and glittering synths. After the show, The Ivy headed to the merch table to meet fans– something I always love to see artists do who genuinely appreciate their supporters.

Before the show, I had the chance to sit down with The Ivy for an interview. They were incredibly kind, laid-back, and easy to talk to. Check out our conversation below.

Q&A:
How has tour and Nashville been so far?
Shawn: “Tour’s been a whirlwind. It’s been crazy. We’ve been on the road for about four weeks now. And yeah, we’re on our third car. We love Nashville. We actually just pulled up to Nashville, I guess, at 4 p.m. today. So, we haven’t yet had our experience in Nashville, but yeah, we love Nashville.”
Wyatt: “Yeah, no, Nashville was definitely a stop we were looking forward to and kind of a much needed, like familiar break, I would say, cause we’ve been to a few places that we haven’t been before, which has been really nice, but it’s good to have like a place to, you know, not call home, but like close enough to home.”

Have y’all ever played EXIT/IN before?
Wyatt: “Yeah, we played here in 2023, and we found our little signature on the wall over there, which is fun. August 24th and it was a great time. Yeah, we played here with Landon Conrath, and it was a good time.”
Shawn: “Yeah, it was so fun. I love EXIT/IN, and I think they are super hospitable, very cool people, and cool management. Awesome venue, sounds great. Cool room.”

How’s it been touring with Lyncs? “Don’t Fall Asleep To This” is your latest single with her– where did y’all get the inspiration for that song?
Wyatt: “Yeah, touring with Lyncs has been amazing. Jackie is a very sweet person who is super easy to travel with. We love their crew. Sharing the stage has been really cool. We’ve been playing the song that we wrote together every night. And, yeah, that song just kind of came out of like a little piano idea that I had and then we Sean and I like kind of decided it might be good to take to the writing session that we had planned with her and she sort of like came up with the theme and like the concept for it. It kind of we developed it like lyrically together from there.”
Shawn: “Yeah, it was awesome. She’s awesome to work with in a songwriting session and then also really fun to travel with and perform with. So yeah, she’s super cool.”

Is there a specific song in your set list that you look forward to playing every night? Why that one?
Jordan: “For me, it’s the song “38” it’s specifically like the guitar solo bridge section is the energy is really high and I’m a sucker for like a build um yeah, so yeah, I would say that song.”
Shawn: “Yeah, I’d say “Gold,” probably for the same reason. It’s a super high-energy song, so that’s fun.”
Wyatt: “Mine is “Stop On A Dime” because the ending is really fun and chaotic, and I get to play the most like distorted guitar tone that I have, so it’s a good time.”

Has there been a fun or special moment on tour so far that you’re willing to share with me?
Wyatt: “Well, there’s a lot of negatives that I could say, but I’ll choose a happy one. Um, the first show we played in Albuquerque, right? This couple came up and told us that they used our song “Gold” and like as a part of their wedding vows, which was just the craziest like compliment you can get. I mean, there’s like nothing more special than that, you know?”
Shawn: “Yeah, that’s absolutely wild. It’s crazy. I would say something similar, probably like, just anytime someone says that they flew in for a show or put a lot of energy towards more than just like driving from your local or to your local venue to see us. It means, I don’t want to say it means more, but it’s just like they’re putting that much energy for it to see us. And so it means a lot.”
Jordan: “I don’t have like a specific one, but conversations with people afterwards after the show are always really cool, like getting to hear I can tell on my side of it and then I get to hear their side of like how long they’ve been listening and what the show like meant and what they thought of everything and it’s just cool hearing people’s different perspectives.”

How do y’all feel about this being the last week of your tour?
Shawn: “Bittersweet. I think it’s definitely on the one hand feels like a long time coming because it’s been a little bit of a struggle, just moving throughout the tour, literally, just with transportation issues. But aside from that, the shows have been really fun, and it’s been cool to kind of reconnect with our fan base on a tangible level and see them face to face. And like Jordan said, probably the highlight of every day is getting to like speak to the fans because that’s really like why you do all of this stuff.”
Wyatt: “Yeah, that’s true. I’m not ready to go home, but I would say I would do this for probably another two weeks if I could get three or four nights of good sleep. Like I could just get three days off, like sleep perfectly, I would keep going. But since that’s not the case, yeah, I’m getting tired. But it’s been fun.”
Jordan: “I’m mostly just bummed about having to go back to my barista job at home, which I don’t really like very much, but it is what it is.”

What can we expect to see from The Ivy coming up? Any plans?
Shawn: “Yeah, I mean, we’re always writing.”
Wyatt: “Yeah, we’ve got a lot of music that’s kind of in different stages of being done or not done. So we’re in the process of like sorting through all of our demos right now and sort of figuring out what the next step is. But we do have a lot of stuff in the pipeline.”

– Sidney Roberts

SETLIST:
Hurts Just Right
Good Faith
Records
Be Like You
Gums Lost Flavor
Stop On A Dime
Have You Ever Been In Love
Tower of Terror
Street Dog
It Was Always You
Don’t Fall Asleep To This
38
Clairo
Broad Shoulders
Entangled
Gold