After announcing and selling out his first show in Utrecht, grandson quickly added a second date at Tivoli Vredenburg. While he already performed an energetic performance, the energy was no less on February 2nd. This tour was in the theme of his latest album, INERTIA, released last September. Along with him he brought Pinkshift from Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
When Pinkshift took to the stage, their mission was clear from the start. They were there to warm up the crowd, but also to speak up and make a statement. Lead vocalist Ashrita Kumar was running from left to right, asking the crowd to give all their energy. They opened with “Evil Eye,” followed by “Anita Ride.” During the latter the first mosh pit of the evening opened up, making a huge hole in the middle of the crowd. So much space opened up, that someone even dared to do a flip in the middle. After Kumar said they were anti authority, they played their song “Authority Problem.” Throughout their set the crowd did not stand still, participating in multiple mosh pits and even a wall of death.
With the crowd warmed up and ready, it did not take long for the first mosh pits to start after grandson came on stage. Opening his set with “AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY ROBOT” the tone for the night was set. There was no barricade for the show, giving the fans the chance to get as close as possible. During “BELLS OF WAR,” grandson thought it looked fun down on the floor, so he jumped off the stage to join the fans in the mosh pit. The respect between fan and artist was clear. When grandson spoke to the crowd without his microphone, the whole venue quieted down to be able to hear him clearly. He called the center of the floor the heartbeat of the venue, if you wanted to go crazy you could go there. If you wanted to be at the front, he told people to find a way to get to the front. This was our night, with the venue as our safe space. During “6:00” guitarist Amin Mortada and bassist Maxwell Urasky made their way to the floor, standing in the middle with a circle pit of people running around them.
Every night of the tour he wanted to play a special song. Before letting the crowd know which song it was going to be tonight, he told them that if they were a new fan, it was not for them. He hoped they would enjoy it either way, but it was dedicated for the 6 people that know it. When “Welcome to Paradise” from his first album Death of an Optimist started a few cheers could be heard from the fans who recognized it and were excited to finally hear it live. Between songs he thanked the crowd in his best Dutch.
“We are going to give the band a break” is what grandson said when his band left for the next song. It was just grandson in the spotlight with his guitar, dedicating the following song to anyone who we have lost along the way. He has been making music for 10 years, previously playing at the Melkweg in Amsterdam for 200 people. This song is for anyone who was there, but couldn’t be here tonight. The beginning notes of “Heather” started and this surely was an emotional one for many people in the crowd. People put up their flashlights, or lighters for those who had them, and almost everyone on the floor sat down to fully take in this moment. He wrote the song about a fan he lost to suicide, which is a heavy topic on it’s own, but really punches your gut when you take a deep listen to the lyrics.
The energy and band were brought back up for the next songs, “Drones” and “YOU MADE ME THIS WAY,” which of course had the venue jumping and moshing back around. With the venue lay-out making the stage quite accessible from the floor, fans of course took their chance to climb up on the stage. While some stage dived back into the crowd, the stage filled up with fans during “Blood // Water.” The stage manager first wanted to get the fans back down into the crowd, but grandson made it clear that it was okay for them to be there. It did not take long before half the venue was standing on stage, with the band resorting back to their safe island of the drum riser. Even during the last song of the evening, “Stick Up,” fans stayed on the stage, headbanging along and taking in this special moment.
GALLERY: Grandson with Pinkshift at Tivoli Vredenberg in Utrecht, Netherlands (February 2, 2026)
