As a downpour flooded New York City last Friday night, a small but animated group of fans trickled into the basement of Drom to watch Rose Paradise perform. At 21 years old, Paradise has all the hallmarks of an up-and-coming singer; she has a dedicated following, several shows lined up, and a hopefulness for her career.
Drom, the small music venue on Avenue A, is dimly lit. With the stage in the corner, everyone has a clear view of the band as they set up, tuning guitars and checking wires. There’s grumbling in the crowd over the bar’s $20 drink minimum, prompting friends to negotiate who will put their card down and who will Venmo later. Everyone knows each other; the waiting time before the show begins is filled with friends catching up and introducing each other to one another.
Paradise builds momentum throughout her opening tracks. By the time the singer and her band reach the fifth song, “You’re So Dramatic,” her adoring crowd is swaying and singing. Her voice is clear, her lyrics are sincere, “I want you to know me, everything about me,” and she seems at home on stage.
“Year of the Dog,” her most recent release, is the crowd favorite of the night. This song of fading summers and love captures Paradise’s folky style with slow, stripped back guitar. The friends from the music video dance around the room, and everyone knows the lyrics. Having grown up in a small beach town in California, Paradise is a long way from home, yet her audience here in New York is completely devoted. It’s heartwarming to see that so many of Paradise’s friends and fans believe in her.
A cover of The Cranberries’ “Linger” follows, capturing the energy of the evening with her somewhat melancholic voice. Paradise’s singing style might be called sweet; her even-pitched notes are clearly born of natural talent, but a degree of personality remains in her swinging range. Her voice travels from a delicate falsetto to a deeper, more emotional place throughout, echoing the heart-wrenching vocals of the original song. A lengthened guitar solo from Paradise’s guitarist highlights the band’s synergy.
Paradise appears comfortable in the spotlight with her band behind her. On any given night, you can find aspiring musicians scattered across venues downtown, whose careers will never graduate from the cramped rooms of local music spots. Not Rose Paradise. Onstage, with her long blonde curls glowing under the stage light, it is easy to imagine her rich voice and smooth guitar riffs filling amphitheaters much bigger than Drom.
Moving to New York has been fruitful for Paradise, even if her heart remains in California. Writing her first album at ten years old, the young musician has always known that music is her destiny. Since moving across the country, she has seized every opportunity to make a space for herself in the New York music scene.
“You don’t really realize every opportunity you take, every time you put yourself out into the public, there’s a ripple effect,” she said. A self-starter, Paradise first got into the New York music scene by booking her own shows and putting herself out there. “Now, people are asking me to [play]!” she said.
In the city, she’s supported by her band, whom she describes adoringly as her best friends.
“Rose is one of my favorite people. I think we’re all in this together, there’s not much [she] can do to make us mad at [her],” said Paradise’s guitarist John Loy.
For Paradise, music is the only way. She wrote her first album at ten years old and hasn’t stopped playing since. “I don’t see anything else for me. I hope that life keeps allowing me to do what I love. I’m super lucky.”