Ashnikko @ Stage AE (5/12/2026)
I have a few keychains attached to both my camera bag and my purse. Handmade little fish, and a tiny toy camera. In some company it's gaudy, but at Ashnikko's concert, I felt like I needed many, many more. One concertgoer dressed her husband up as a bag charm, and another girl at the Pittsburgh show Tuesday night had an entire skirt made out of Labubus. Walking through the absolutely packed Stage AE, I got to see so many cool outfits, the aforementioned ones being at least partially inspired by Ashnikko's new song "Trinket" off her new album Smoochies. Smoochies was released in October 2025 and follows her very successful 2023 album WEEDKILLER.
I photographed Ashnikko on that 2023 tour, at the same venue, and I was more than happy to be back.
Noticeably different, Ash seemed much chattier with the audience this go around, and she admitted that Smoochies is a much happier album compared to WEEDKILLER. At one point Ash playfully told the audience, “Thank you for just throwing anything on top of your head and calling it a hat.” It felt like the audience got a sillier, and also more personal, side of her during her between-song banter as opposed to other times I've seen her.
For the actual performance, it was exactly what you'd expect if you're familiar with Ashnikko at all. Raunchy, sexual, campy, and fun. Her backup dancers joined in choreography with Ash, but also brought out themed props throughout the performance, one of them being a giant 2D lip gloss tube that they mimed putting on each other in the background. The stage had a giant "flower" in the middle with a tiny door, from which Ashnikko emerged to start her first song, "Sticky Fingers." Ashnikko played almost the entire Smoochies album while on stage, but also gave us a few of the classics too, such as Stupid and You Make Me Sick!. She closed out her almost two-hour set with two of the songs that put her on the map, Slumber Party and Daisy.
Ashnikko continues her tour, and stops in nearby Cleveland on August 1st if you weren't able to make this performance!
Photos by Shelly Duncan
