Fightmaster at 7th Street (May 19, 2026)

It was my second show in a row where the predominant demographic was female.  But instead of teens and pre-teens screaming for two straight hours for their favorite K-pop band, those in the audience at 7th Street Entry were a little older but no less enthusiastic. 

Katie Lynne Sharbaugh kicked off early at 7:30 for the sold-out show.  She is originally from Pennsylvania and now living in Nashville after graduating from Berklee.  Classically trained, the only instrument she played for the evening was a viola, which she plucked like a ukulele while singing and using a bow for her solos.  She was backed by a gentleman on electric guitar, and they pulled off a symbiotic nimbleness as Sharbaugh sang bright and clever songs from her upcoming new album Great Big Idea with a release date of August 21, 2026.   

After singing “Poconos”, Sharbaugh said she had a penchant for writing location songs which led to “Omaha.”  To her understanding she believed that Omaha was in the Midwest, but she was corrected by someone in the audience that said Nebraska is part of the Great Plains, which brings me to a geographical sidebar:  

The Midwest is more of an idea than a distinct region.  So, yes, Omaha is in the Midwest, and, yes, Omaha is in the Great Plains.  And, yes, everyone was correct at 7th Street Entry because everyone was there for a good time.  

Sharbaugh then sang “Meet You There” for the first time in front of a crowd and then “Untethered” a song about living with OCD.  

As soon as Sharbaugh finished with “Little Fortune” the area around me collapsed as people pressed towards the stage.  A girl standing next to me kept asking the couple in front of her if she could move ahead of them as Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway” played through the main speakers.  (Apparently, she reached a dead end.)

Then my attention quickly turned back to the main event as Fightmaster took the stage.  

Fightmaster is a musical project of E.R. Fightmaster who identifies as non-binary and they were joined on stage by Nick on lead guitar, April on drums and I didn’t quite catch who was on keys. 

E.R. tweaked an earwig and said to the sound engineer, “I can’t hear me, which is kind of important.”

Immediately they won over the crowd.  

After the laughter died down E.R. added, “OK, I’m done being an uncle.” And launched into “Violence” with a sustained panache that personally made me think that was the best opening I’ve seen all year.  

After a couple more songs, E.R. asked for the main lights to be turned on so they could see the crowd. And as E.R. talked and scanned the crowd, they stopped.  “Excuse me, what is that?” 

A person in the back row was holding a Rosie O’Donnell doll, which completely stopped the show as E.R. asked the person to bring the doll up to the stage.  “No,” they stopped. “I want Rosie to crowd surf.”

And just like that Rosie was passed from hand-to-hand up to the stage.  And this simple act of playful lunacy was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen at 7th Street Entry.  But leave it up to a performer who is a former member of Second City and has had roles on shows like Shrill and Grey’s Anatomy.  

Great opening song.  Great improv bit.  What more could you want in a night that had Rosie crowd surfing back to her owner during “Cowboy Tumbleweed.”

It was a short night because E.R. has only recently started performing, and their debut album Tolerance is set to be released on June 5, 2026.  Check them out if they are coming to your city, especially if you need to dance and have a good laugh. 

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