93x Family Reunion – Grand Casino Arena – St. Paul MN – September 19th 2025
93X Family Reunion – Evanescence with Poppy, Dorothy, and Black Map – Grand Casino Arena – St. Paul, MN – September 19th, 2025
Review and photos by Kate Klaus
The newly renamed Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, MN was the perfect place to throw a loud family reunion party, and 93X stacked the bill with powerful energy, culminating with a headlining performance from Evanescence, for a four-hour high-intensity rock show including Poppy, Dorothy, and Black Map.
Black Map opened the show, the Northern California trio’s post-hardcore muscle cutting through the arena. “Disintegrate” and “Witching Hour” set a dark, glassy tone, with “Foxglove” and “Run Rabbit Run” giving the set some welcome dynamics. Their performance was loud, sharp, and set a great rock vibe to start off the evening.
Dorothy then took the stage and flipped the vibe from grayscale to gold. Dorothy Martin’s voice filled the arena with tones that were smoky one second and crisp and melodic the next, and the band powered through hits including “Down to the Bottom”, “Bones” and “Mud” and swaggering sing-alongs like “Rest in Peace and “Whiskey Fever”. Eliot Lorango (fresh of a run with Jerry Cantrell) on bass and drummer Jake Hayden carried the driving rhythms, and guitarist Sam Bam Koltun brought a mix of hard rock riffs and bluesy tones that elevated the music and left the crowd wanting more.
Poppy was the wild card in the evening that paid off in excited support from the energized crowd. With a dramatic production set including pyrotechnics and lots of CO2 cannons, her set fused serrated industrial pop with metal theatrics and intense screams. Her hits “Bloodmoney” and “Anything Like Me” pulsed through the arena, and the Bad Omens cover “V.A.N” landed as a clever, timely nod for this crowd. The production beats, strobe choreography, and tight band breaks made it the “showiest” performance of the night without losing punch and intensity and that edginess that Poppy is known for.
Photos by Ana Massard
Evanescence closed the night with a powerful and captivating headlining performance. Amy Lee’s piano-to-pyro range anchored an 80-minute run that balanced legacy and late-career confidence. Her voice was rich, dramatic, and capable of soaring high notes while still conveying intimacy that she paired with some genuine heartfelt moments with the crowd. She moved seamlessly between piano ballads and full-throttle rock anthems, giving the set emotional peaks and valleys. Crowd favorites “Going Under,” “Lithium,” and “My Immortal” hit the nostalgia centers, while “Use My Voice,” “Better Without You,” and “Blind Belief” brought their more recent work to a well-rounded set. Tim McCord and Troy McLawhorn on guitar added energy and fiery riffs, and Emma Anzai powered the deep bass line. Will Hunt’s drums thundered through the arena, and his energy behind the kit was both captivating to watch and hear. The final one-two of “My Immortal” into “Bring Me to Life” to end the evening was a perfect finale to a moving and powerful night of music and connection.
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