4.30.26 - St. Paul, MN

It was a busy Thursday evening for the Twin Cities. With the Minnesota Wild game happening in St. Paul and the Timberwolves game happening in Minneapolis, the night was just getting started. Right down the street from the Minnesota Wild game in St. Paul, Ashley Kutcher was headlining a show at Amsterdam Bar & Hall. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter brought her Roots Tour to St. Paul on April 30.

Bellah Mae opened the night adorned in shades and a matching cow-print set with cowboy boots on. Despite the relatively Southern appearance, Mae hails from the UK. Her English accent melts away into a smooth, almost Southern-like drawl when she’s singing so much that it was easy to forget her roots until she spoke again in between songs. Mae played some of her popular hits like “Love Me Less” and “Drama King.” She also covered “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry. Mae was welcomed warmly in St. Paul and was constantly interacting with the girls in the front row who were screaming her songs. She also played her latest song, released last week, “Salt and Sugar.” Her set ended, and the crowd lit up with praise for her.

I first discovered Ashley Kutcher when Spotify played “Boy From Carolina” in 2024 and saw her for the first time when she opened for Michael Marcagi in 2025. The earnestness of her songwriting and overall stage presence drew me in. Kutcher brings an air of realness to her that makes every stage she steps on come to life.

After handling a few technical difficulties with her guitar, Kutcher stepped out wearing a wig for her first song, “Back To My Roots.” Once she got to the first line of the chorus, “I went back to my roots, swore off the bleach,” she ripped off the wig and revealed her real hair. After the reveal and the remainder of the song, Kutcher slowed things down and played “In The Dirt.”

Kutcher introduced the Roots Tour and spoke about her most recent album, Back To My Roots & These Roots Run Deep, released January 23. While on this tour she focused mainly on playing songs from this album, she still paid homage to some fan favorites throughout the night. The album explores what it means to reconnect with yourself, find who you are through heartbreak, and return to your roots.

During her set, Kutcher played “SCREW YOU,” which she described as a love song written through her usual lens of heartbreak and angst. This got the crowd singing the words back to her. She followed this song up with another crowd pleaser: “Hey Girl." “Hey Girl” really taps into the realness previously mentioned. The song tells the story of a girl who slid into Kutcher's DM's and let her know her boyfriend was cheating on her. The crowd gasped along with her as she sang and told the story.

After these two songs, we transcended back into a few slower, acoustic ones. “Fancy” and “Sleepy.” Both songs emphasized Kutcher’s vocal talents. Her unique emotive voice adds a grit to her songs, which helps you feel and believe what she is singing about.

A lamp, vanity, and coat rack holding a letterman’s jacket added a bit of variety and interest to her stage design. Each of these items could easily be tied back to her roots and her time at home in high school. The vanity had a mic stand in front of it, so I patiently waited for her to use it. Finally, during "Useless," she walked over and turned on the vanity mirror to do her hair and sing into the mirror before turning back to the crowd and finishing the song.After the song concluded, she switched off the vanity and returned to the center stage. While I was surprised she only went over there for one song, it was worth the wait.

Kutcher, now finally feeling better after being sick the last week, concluded her set with “Boy From Carolina” and “Plead.” The entire night felt so personal and casual. Kutcher’s down-to-earth nature really made it feel like you were watching a close, personal friend. Despite all her jokes about not having money for a big production tour, this show didn’t need it. The singer and music spoke for themselves.