Yuno at Turf Club, St Paul (August 18, 2025)

On a quiet summer night in Saint Paul, there was a lineup of indie pop music at the Turf Club, with Yuno on tour in support of his new album.

The opener was Windser, aka Jordan Topf. With a pretty excellently named 2022 EP Where the Redwoods Meet the Sea, he also released his self-titled debut full length album here in 2025. The Californian came to the stage as part of a quartet (vocals/guitar, guitar/backing vocals, bass/backing vocals, and drums).

Opening with Abandon, Windser was using that pop sound as cover for some pretty dark lyrics. Grabbing a guitar for the next number, Windser had a really pleasant sound, and it’s solid vocals. After a bit of talk about being glad to be back in Minnesota, and even recognizing local independent radio station The Current, Windser moved onto to a new song Drown.

A switch to acoustic guitar had Windser introduce the next song TV with, “this is a song about watching Netflix on the couch with your crush”. A bit of falsetto showed a very good range on the vocals and the drums on Backyard were a great centerpiece for that number. A good set list by Windser had a build up in song complexity, as they layered in additional backing vocals and electronic music from the laptop. This was perfect music for the lazy summer day outside.

Back to the electric guitar, Windser went back to an early song with Friends I Barely Know, a bubble gum rock song. The band had really opened up by the last numbers and Memory was a radio friendly sounding number, with good layered guitar work. A cute story of his recent marriage led into Shut Up and Kiss Me, and Windser got his most unrestrained singing. Finishing on a big energy number, the band closed on a high note and had really gotten the evening going strong.

Windser at Amsterdam Bar (April 6, 2024)

I spoke briefly with Topf between sets. Asking about how things were going in this early part of the tour, he mentioned both the excitement, but also the realities of the long days of travel. Having flown from Los Angeles to start the tour in Philadelphia and working their way to Saint Paul via Toronto and Chicago, you can envision all the hours the bands are in the van. Even with that, he was clearly excited for the next leg, as they head to Denver and beyond. Topf spoke with fondness for Saint Paul, having performed with Lime Cordiale at Amsterdam Bar & Hall last year. Watching an interaction with a fan buying merch, Topf was engaged and I appreciated the simple kindness that made that fan’s experience all the better.

Next up was headliner Yuno, aka Carlton Joseph Moodie. The New York based artist was raised in Jacksonville, Florida, where he learned multiple instruments and self-released a number of songs before being signed by Sub Pop Records. His debut full length album Blest was released in May 2025. Appearing as a very busy quartet (vocals/guitar/electronic music, guitar/keyboards/backing vocals, keyboards/bass/backing vocals, and drums), Yuno hit the ground running. After giving a shout out to the opener, the band went into Grapefruit, which was a very poppy number. The band relaxed into a slower paced song with Massive and Yuno’s almost laconic approach on that number was pretty perfect.

Saying this was the first tour since 2018, it didn’t feel like Yuno was a stranger to the stage. Fall in Lovewas a slower paced number but also included a cover of Smash Mouth’s All Star, and got an amusing “I wrote half that last song, but all of the next one”. The songs swung between indie pop and more alt rock, and Yuno and band could move between those sounds by leaning the mix more towards guitar or keyboards and Worst of Times was more rock number. Getting to the title track Blest was a blast of energy and had Yuno in falsetto early and often. This latter section had some really fun and fast paced numbers and Gimme Ocean was a great example, with Yuno in rapid fire lyrics and backing band playing hard. A keyboard heavy intro on No Going Back was pretty excellent and had Yuno in a soulful sound. Perfect Pear had surprise special guest DeCarlo Jackson from local band Hippo Campus on trumpet. Though the printed set list suggested an encore, the band never paused, much less leaving the stage. Bringing it home with Blitz!, Yuno had wowed the audience who crowded towards the merch table at the end of the evening.