Sombr, On The Cusp of Stardom, Forges Fan Connection at NYC’s Pier 17

Sombr 
Rooftop At Pier 17
New York, NY
Oct. 10, 2025

Sombr’s meteoric rise to the cusp of pop stardom has been stoked with an earnest fervor, most prominently by the voices of an enthusiastic army of young female fans, for whom Shane Michael Boose is the heartbroken troubadour of the moment. 

It’s an infectious energy best experienced in real time. Yes, the New York singer-songwriter’s plushy streaming numbers (60 million monthly Spotify listeners at last check) and smokin’ hot video for “12 to 12” (co-starring Addison Rae, now past 18 million views), have contributed to Sombr’s debut, I Barely Know Her, ascending to No. 10 on the album chart, and more recently pushing him to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songwriter’s Chart. But to see and hear the zeal of Sombr’s base—which showed up in strong, fine, communal squeal, on a seasonally windy October Friday to Lower Manhattan’s Rooftop at Pier 17, for the second of two sold-out shows—is to recognize a deeper-than-usual connection being forged between a young artist and an adoring crowd.   
   
Part of the night’s narrative relied on this hometown passion. New York loves itself some Sombr. When this his first national trek—the “Late Nights and Young Romance Tour”—was first announced in April, his dates were supposed to take place at smaller venues like Manhattan’s Gramercy Theater (capacity 650); but because of overwhelming demand, was moved to Pier 17 (standing capacity: 3,500). (Two additional dates, Nov. 5 and 6, at the 1,800-capacity Brooklyn Steel, are also sold-out, with the resale market doing brisk business, fetching twice or more of the original ticket prices.)

And Sombr most certainly loves himself some New York. Over the course of the night’s show, Boose’s by-turns droll and spirited banter constantly invoked a deep civic affection. If his Lower East Side upbringing and “LaGuardia High School [the Fame school] drop-out” origin story were expectedly on-script, the repeated, late-in-the-show apologies to his hometown audience for “losing,” or not singing with his full voice sounded heartfelt, was regretful in a way that appeared out of step with the character Boosewas mostly portraying onstage. It seems the lithe, bespoke-suit-wearing cad with all the right lines, could be a hurt fella too.

Sombr’s apologies also came as news for most in the audience. To our ears, Boose and his crack, glam-rock-centric quintet sounded sharp. Despite the described duress and the gusts sweeping in off the East River, Boose’s shaggy tenor could still swoop into falsetto with ease (on the bridge to “Dime” for instance), showcasing a singer in complete control. It also provided clear vocal effects to the twin sides of the story that most Sombr songs communicate: how the lustful yearning and sensitive trepidation of unrequited love go hand-in-hand in the psyches of many teenage boys, whose lives are too tame to provide fodder for “Euphoria” storylines.  

When married to the band’s live stomp—especially indicative in Sal Suriano’s Gibson, which played a more pronounced role on-stage than any of the guitars do on the Tony Berg-produced Barely Know Her—Sombr’s songs harkened back to an AOR-radio-friendly, early-’80s moment when arena-glam rock and new wave came together. They’re hooky, upbeat sing-alongs, with key lines and choruses that could brighten up any feed. In that context, Sombr’s love-lorn trepidations sounded like an emo Gen Z’er’s update on Sting’s great Police love songs. (See also: Gotye.) While the warm on-stage bromance between Boose and Suriano—lotsa tackling, multiple songs ending with both men in a heap on-the-floor—gave new context to the pining lyrics. If I can’t have the girl, there are still my friends.

Sombr’s young contempo-hetero masculinity—its performative aspects, but also its genuine youthful tenderness—found space throughout the show. The stage set lifted from the opening TV-talk-show scene of the “12 to 12” video offered moments for Boose to sit on a guest couch and answer cliche’d private-life questions, or tease exposing his bare chest to the crowd’s glee. (He finally acquiesced during “Back to Friends”)  A mid-set pause saw Sombr invite two recently broken-up-with female audience-members on-stage for a live Facetime with their exes to suss out who was at fault; when the second ex admitted to cheating, Boose cursed him and hung up. “The moral of the story is men suck,” he grandstanded to seemingly end the segment; before closing with a punchline: “But not me, I’m a feminist.” It was quick, it was funny, it was a come-on. Like most of what young men looking to hook up say, who knows if it was true.

The reason to take Sombr at face-value, to recognize that the self-aggrandizement and -effacement go together, is that his songs and poses are of-a-piece. Sexy, gangly, mostly lovable. Even a New York-raised 20 year-old, quasi-groomed to be a rock star at an arts high-school that seems to be having (thanks to Chalemet’s Dylan impression) its own international moment, can still be a confused kid. Sombr just happens to put his confusion into words that are fun to scream, especially if you’re in a safe-space crowd surrounded by those who are pining too. 

“In a room full of people, I look for you/ Would you avoid me or would you look for me too?” they screamed as the set-closing, disco-rock of “12 to 12” floated from the rooftop, back towards Brooklyn Bridge, bright in the background. Sombr’s earnest army, backing him all the way.


Sombr is managed by Box Artist Management and repped by UTA. While his touring data is relatively limited this early in his career, Pollstar Boxoffice Reports include his two Pier 17 shows (promoted by Live Nation), which grossed more than $323.4K, on over 7,167 total tickets, from a relatively reasonable $45-average ticket price on the primary market. On Oct. 10, Sombr sold 3,663 tickets and grossed $164,709; on Oct. 9, he sold slightly less tickets at 3,504 and grossing $158,735.  Sombr’s only other Boxoffice Report is an international show four months earlier on May 25 at Dublin, Ireland’s Academy where he grossed $33,035 on 805 tickets sold for an average ticket price of $41. Obviously, it’s not quite apples to apples as Dublin is not yet as lucrative a market as his hometown, but his star has certainly risen since that show. 


More indicative of the response to Sombr’s “Late Nights & Young Romance Tour” can be gleaned since he announced a small club tour in April, which by September became vast underplays with ticket demand far surpassing supply. This resulted in a upgrade of venues, from small clubs to significantly larger clubs and theaters. In Washington, D.C., for example, Sombr’s went from The Atlantis (450 cap) to The Anthem (6K cap); in Austin, from Empire Control Room (350 cap) to Stubb’s (2,500 cap); and in Los Angeles from the El Rey (771 cap) to two nights at the Shrine (5K cap) on Oct. 28 and 29.