By Megan Bainbridge

On Friday, music groups Primrose, Nova One, and Weakened Friends performed live at the State Theater in Portland, Maine. For those from Maine, there was a sense of regional pride for the two bands formed in Portland: Primrose (est. 2020) and Weakend Friends (est. 2018), respectively. For the queer community, it was a night of representation; the lineup featured multiple queer artists. Providence, Rhode Island based musical group Nova One (led by queer musician Roz Raskin) creates dreamy music that promotes queer futurity. Weakened Friends, a band where vocalist Sonia Sturino is happily married to bassist Annie Hoffman, is partnering with The Ally Coalition (TAC) to raise money to fight for equality for LGBTQ youth. For every ticket sold for their current “Feels Like Hell” Tour, $1 will be donated to TAC.

The performances were seamlessly planned and executed. Notably, each of the three groups exuded a harmoneous stage presence. Balanced by a mix of energetic and calm personalities, each performance created a space that anyone in the audience could appreciate.

Primrose, an indie rock band that self-describes as incorporating notes of “punchy math rock” into their discography, kicked off the evening with an upbeat and moody set. The group is clearly multi-talented; as the set progressed, the drummer played the guitar, the primary vocalist switched to bass, and the bassist switched to the drums. The group expressed immense delight to be performing at the State Theater, which was clearly reflected in their wide grins and an enthusiastic selfie with the crowd.

The mood shifted to soft and dreamy when Nova One took the stage. The indie rock combo group was dressed in a matching femme drag getup of striped shirts, sheer tights, and stylish pastel pink bob-and-bangs cut synthetic wigs. In “crying,” Roz tells the story of hurting a lover in the process of uncovering their sexuality–an homage to every gay person who has ever been in a heterosexual relationship. Their song “you were right” nails the juxtaposition between soft singing and gritty instrumentals.

The evening’s headliner, indie rock trio Weakened Friends, returns home to Portland, Maine in the middle of their “Feels Like Hell” Tour. The tour began on October 22nd, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and will end on February 7th, 2026 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “Awkward” encompasses what it feels like to overthink the longevity of a perfectly imperfect relationship, while “What You Like” is to grieve a relationship that will never happen. “Weightless” encompasses a yearning for life before the monotony of being an adult with bills to pay.

In conversation with the crowd, vocalist Sonia Sturino discusses their experience with working tough service jobs in Portland to supplement a musician’s income. Sonia goes on to discuss the feelings of empathy and respect felt within the space of a musical performance and how those values aren’t always upheld in the outside world. The artist asks the crowd how they are really doing, and one crowd member seems to cry out in anguish. Sonia references the current political climate in the United States, noting that people are being grabbed from the street.

Later on in the set, a live video feed of the singer is projected onto the stage. The feed appeared to be a fairly low resolution; this artistic touch made it feel like watching a home movie as it was being made.

Weakened Friends covered the song “Torn,” written by Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Phil Thornalley. While it is best known by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia’s 1997 cover, the song was originally formally released by singer Lis Sørensen in 1993 in Danish under the title "Brændt,” which translates to “Burnt.” You might know the song from Welsh pop punk band Neck Deep’s 2018 cover. Some songs, like “Torn,” are so well-written, versatile, and beloved that they transcend language, time, and genre. Weakened Friends has excellent taste to include a cover of this cherished tune on “Feels Like Hell” 32 years following its original release.