Carly Rae Jepsen's Irving Plaza Show: Proof You Don't Need a Press Pass

Carly Rae Jepsen was supposed to close out Sunday at All Things Go with a sunset set, her only scheduled performance of 2026. Then a nor'easter rolled in and canceled the entire festival. Instead of accepting defeat and waiting for her 2027 tour to get back on stage, she announced a popup show at Irving Plaza, a 1,000-cap room in New York, with almost no notice. It sold out in seconds and resale tickets were going for up to $1,200 (original tickets were $15 each).

I was lucky enough to get in at that original rate. I had no photo pass, no backstage access, no press credential. Just a point-and-shoot camera, hours in line in the rain to get a good spot, and eight years of being a fan finally paying off with my first time seeing her live.

The show was not only special because it was fresh off the release of Day and Night, her new double album, but because it was her first live performance in years. In a room that small, every single person there was a true fan, not a casual festival crowd that wandered over for the hits. You could feel it. Confetti dropped twice, during "I Really Like You" and again on the closer, "Cut to the Feeling," and she spent most of the set smiling like she'd genuinely missed doing this.

On the gear: I shot the whole thing on a Sony RX100 VII, a compact point-and-shoot with a fixed 24-200mm equivalent zoom lens. No detachable lens means no barrier at the door. That single spec is the difference between getting turned away at will-call and getting into a sold-out show with zero pass. The long end of that zoom gives you real reach from the crowd, the autofocus keeps up with a moving performer, and burst mode means you're not relying on luck to catch the right frame. It's not a replacement for a full frame body and fast glass when you have access. But when you don't, it's the best tool a photographer can bring into a venue that says no to "real" cameras.