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Sep 25, 2025 By Joshua Mellin Photography by Joshua Mellin Web Exclusive

Cameron Lew’s Ginger Root wrapped a three-night run at Chicago’s Empty Bottle on Sunday with the kind of inventive, playful performance that’s made the Huntington Beach project one of the most fun live shows on the road right now. The night opened with a full video screen accompanied performance of Shinbangumi, Lew’s conceptual visual album set in the fictional Juban District: a half-80s Japanese, half-American suburb city. It’s a world that ties together Ginger Root’s distinct blend of indie pop, Japanese city pop, and a creative lineage that nods to acts like Japanese Breakfast and Gorillaz.

After a short break, the second set turned into controlled chaos with the WHEEL, a spinning setlist generator featuring deep cuts, fan favorites, and wildcards like a Jackson 5 cover (“Never Can Say Goodbye” that paid off just 3 songs in) and, by popular demand at the end of the night, Devo’s “Uncontrollable Urge.” Along the way, Lew mixed in Ginger Root staples like “Entertainment” and “City Slicker,” before upping the ante with a smaller Loretta-exclusive wheel for the encore, capped by collaborator and on-stage videographer David M. Gutel filming the final song upside down and projecting it behind the band.

Recent spins in New York even brought out Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast for covers of “Be Sweet” and the Cardcaptor Sakura theme. From Chicago, the band continues east before returning to the West Coast for a final run through California, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, ahead of an impending hiatus to record a new album.

See remaining Wheel Tour dates at: gingerrootmusic.com/shows