The members of Plush, the New York-based rock band who have risen in popularity over the span of just a few years, may be young but they play with a maturity and skill that belies their age. 

I have to admit coming to the Plush party a bit late after hearing the band’s new single, “Why” on heavy rotation on places like hardDrive XL and the SiriusXM channel, Octane. But on Friday night at The Recher in Towson in front of an enthusiastic crowd Plush made me a believer. 

The Recher has been an institution in the Towson / Baltimore area for over 25 years. I can’t recall how many shows I’ve seen there over the past two decades, but they always make you feel right at home. Lining up to get into the club, there were several people chatting about shows they’ve seen there. One fan said she had traveled from Texas just for the show. 

Kicking off the evening was Ruiness from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with a short but powerful set before Baltimore’s own The Last Year took the stage ending with an amazing cover of David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans.” 

Circuit Villains, another Baltimore-area band, also took the stage, mentioning that they had recently started playing again live, but you couldn’t tell as they hit it out of the park before heavy metal heavy hitters, A Sound of Thunder from down the road in DC, came in like a hurricane. 

Plush came out with the anthemic “Left Behind,” which sounded like a sonic banner with singer/guitarist Moriah Formica belting out opening lines “Knock us down, but we get back up” and “Love us to hate us, you’ll never break us…” 

A lot of Plush’s songs deal with that sentiment of not giving in and fighting back. Whether it’s battling self-doubt in “Will Not Win” or working one’s way out of a difficult situation in“Found a Way” they feel very personal but are so universal to anyone who is going through tough times. 

Most of the songs in the set were from the band’s 2021 self-titled LP. And some of the biggest reactions came from songs like “Hate” with its heavy riffs and soaring vocal harmonies between Moriah and bassist Ashley Suppa.  And drummer Faith Powell’s thunderous drums kept things grooving as Ashley and Moriah played off one another, trading blistering riffs. 

“This is one that we’ve always started our sets with,” Moriah told the crowd as the band started on “Athena.” “But this tour is the exception.” 

A lot of the set was also heavy on the rock with “Kill the Noise” as an exceptionally driven example, but it wasn’t all headbanging. Nearing the end of the set, the band switched positions. “Alright,” Moriah took a moment to tell the audience. “The next one we’ve not done before and we can’t remember the last time we played live” she said as Faith took to the keyboard, Moriah with an acoustic guitar, and more surprisingly Ashley with a flute as they played “Sorry,” from the band’s LP.  Normally a hard rocking ballad, the song was transformed into a quieter acoustic number that didn’t blunt any of the song’s intentions. 

Catch the Official Video for “Why” by Plush:

Plush left this Towson crowd with the new single, “Why,” co-written with Disturbed’s David Draiman as Moriah explained that the song meant to encapsulate how the world “is upside down and backwards.” But that wasn’t all as the band went right into what’s become their signature tune, “Champion.”

Plush continue their tour through the end of September and it’s one to look out for. 

The setlist included:
Left Behind
Hope It Hurts
Will Not Win
Hate
Run
Found a Way
Why Do I Even Try
Athena
Kill The Noise
Sober
Bring Me Down
Sorry
Why
Champion

Here are more photos of Plush rocking The Recher on Friday, July 25, 2025. All photos are copyright David LaMason

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Here are some photos of A Sound Of Thunder opening at The Recher

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Here are some photos of Circuit Villains opening at The Recher

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Here are some photos of The Last Year opening at The Recher

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Here are some photos of Ruiness kicking things off at The Recher

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