Melanie Martinez brought her HADES: The Sacrifice Tour to Baltimore this weekend with a fantasy-laden show at CFG Bank Arena. The larger-than-life performance was half concert, half theatre performance with multiple stages, a full dance crew, several set changes, and creative interludes. Martinez is promoting her latest album, HADES, released earlier this year. The HADES: The Sacrifice Tour began with a show in Illinois earlier this month and features Haute & Freddy as the openers on the current leg of the tour.
Haute & Freddy are a theatrical alternative-pop duo based in Los Angeles. Dressed in vintage clown outfits, the pair described themselves as jesters before leading the crowd through a highly energetic performance. They released their debut album, Big Disgrace in March and between opening various dates on Melanie Martinez’s tour, they are on a concurrent headlining tour. Their performance blends music with the circus, reminiscent of Chappell Roan mixed with PT Barnum. Their performance was delightfully weird, and the perfect warm-up ahead of Melanie Martinez.
Melanie Martinez is an alternative-pop singer songwriter from New York. A veteran in the music industry, she rose to fame as a teenager following a 2012 appearance on The Voice, and solidified her place with her debut album, Cry Baby. Her split dyed hair and vintage, doll-like style made her a leading icon of the Tumblr days and marked a defining moment of the 2010s alt-pop era. In 2023 she returned with her third studio album, Portals. Portals marked a shift from her previous two albums and style, as her signature doll-like aesthetic was replaced with an alien-like persona accentuated with the use of facial prosthetics. Her 2026 album, Hades follows a similar alien theme, with Martinez performing as a character named “Circle” through this album cycle.
Melanie Martinez, or Circle, took to the stage shortly after 9pm. Her arrival was announced via a robotic-sounding narrator, who returned between each song to guide the crowd through the show. Much like Haute & Freddy, Martinez’s Hades tour is half concert, half theatrical performance. The stage setup featured an oversized b-stage at the center of the room, with Martinez alternating between stages every few songs. Every song featured a pre-recorded interlude, the backdrop and set changed with each track, and a large dance ensemble rounded out the performance. Unlike typical arena tours of artists of her caliber, the HADES: The Sacrifice tour did not feature any of Martinez’s older songs. Melanie Martinez only played the 18 tracks on the HADES album. Despite the unusually short setlist, the show was filled with creative interludes and mesmerizing dance breaks. Choreographed by Nina McNeely, the advanced choreography added depth to the show and pushed the story along through captivating visuals.
Melanie Martinez’s HADES: The Sacrifice Tour combines elements of dark fantasy, thrilling storytelling, and captivating vocals with a Broadway-level stage performance. While this tour has separated Melanie Martinez from her past projects, she has shown her continued ability to fully throw herself into the creative worlds she’s built with each album. The HADES: The Sacrifice tour will continue through September, with Isabel LaRosa and Valencia Grace joining as openers on the upcoming tour legs. Haute and Freddy will return to the DMV with a show at the 9:30 Club in September.
FINAL GRADE: A
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