Hot on the heels of the success of their collaborative hit single “Symphony”, Zara Larsson and Clean Bandit came to San Francisco last night and showed the local crowd what fun pop music can be. Armed with banging beats laced with dreamy melodies and infectious choruses, both of these rising stars blew the roof of the legendary Fillmore to a completely sold out crowd on a Monday night.

Zara Larsson

Zara, the pop powerhouse named by TIME as being one of the “30 Most Influential Teens of 2016,” kicked off the festivities accompanied by a group of dancers that she kept referring to as “My Girls.” They were jumping, contorting, hip-hoppin’ and shakin’ the night away with more energy than Richard Simmons must have had in his prime. You have to hand to them, the ladies really earned their paychecks that night.

The theme of Zara’s show was definitely “Girl Power” and was perfectly personified in this pint-sized dynamic singer. It’s amazing to see such a mature voice come out of a 5’4’’ 19-year-old young woman that didn’t miss a note or lose her place in the choreography even once during her performance. The blonde Swedish starlet was at times reminiscent of a young Britney Spears with a similar charming bubbly personality that she generously shared with the crowd in between her many hit songs. It’ll be very interesting to see how her career progresses throughout the years because the superstar potential is definitely there.

Clean Bandit

Clean Bandit came on a little bit after nine, surely to be respectful of the younger audience’s bedtime. And although the majority of the crowd consisted mostly of teens and college students, there were all sorts of people in attendance. The mainstream success of their recent hit “Rockabye,” must have played a big part in that, with the crowd chanting in unison to every lyric of the song by the time the group got to the song.

The electro-pop band that features Grace Chatto on the Cello and vocals, Jack Patterson on the Bass, and Luke Patterson on the drums, had two other female singers on stage with them this evening to complete a classic vocal trio lineup full of disco beats and catchy harmonies. It was at times reminiscent of a modern version of ABBA topped off with some electronic violin and bass, not something you see every day in pop music but an element that surely makes them stand out from the rest.

Photos courtesy of Louis Raphael Photography

Ty for making us feel so welcome San Fran (📸 by @fancyphotosbyestefancy) pic.twitter.com/eMoaDc1j4g — Clean Bandit (@cleanbandit) April 4, 2017