“Shut the f— up and play ‘Doses’”
This is what an unknown Tuscaloosa heckler shouted at Jordan Kelly and Jason Huber, the pair that make up Cherub. Kelly relayed this story to the crowd at Chelsea’s Live to show how grateful he is. This heckle references the band’s 2012 frat-party classic, “Doses & Mimosas”.
As previously expressed in a 2018 interview with LSU’s Tiger TV, the duo believes many people see them as just this song rather than Cherub. Their pit stop in Baton Rouge for their February 3rd concert at Chelsea’s Live proves that “Doses & Mimosas” is just the tip of the iceberg.
Cherub formed their electric pop duo in 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee, though they had been friends for five years prior. Witnessing them on stage now, it is quite clear to see they have been friends for ages. They play off of each other effortlessly on stage and never waste a moment of energy. Several moments throughout the night, they would be playing at each other rather than the crowd. You would almost assume they are brothers.
It was not until 2013 with the blow-up of their aforementioned record “Doses & Mimosas” that the band began garnering more widespread attention. They signed to Columbia Records that same year. The next year saw even greater success for the band. “Doses & Mimosas” peaked at 23 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, their second studio album was released, and they performed at that year’s Bonnaroo.
The rest is history.
Cherub has released singles and albums on and off over the last decade. With their newest album, “Everything Changes and That’s OK,” in September of last year, the duo embarked on a new tour of the same name. Their second stop of 2026 brings them back to Baton Rouge for the first time since a 2021 visit to Fred’s.
Before Cherub hit the stage, DJs Bandikoot and Sessy set the mood for the night. Bandikoot, a Baton Rouge act familiar to local Frequency rave-goers, delivered a set that spanned a wonderful spectrum of all kinds of sounds. It opened with synths and psychedelic sounds, remixing songs from Tame Impala, before building into a more distorted industrial sound with a lot of heavy bass. Rounding it out, Bandikoot threw in remixes of songs of all genres, like those from Tyler, the Creator or PinkPantheress.
Sessy delivered exactly what you would expect from his pink hair and flashing lights. His set leaned more hyperactive, featuring lots of pitched-up vocals and electropop, with a lot of Charli XCX songs in the mix. He wasn’t afraid to get a little whimsical with his set, featuring remixes ranging from Smash Mouth’s “All Star” to Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place”.
Cherub’s set carried a very laidback vibe to it. Though this is not to say the duo doesn’t bring the energy. Before the first song even kicked in, Kelly told the crowd he was “gonna play hard” tonight. Still, the Cherub guys brought a personable chill feeling to it all, like two friends playing songs together rather than headlining a tour. During set up, Huber talked to the audience and fiddled around on stage. The sparse stage production fit their easygoing vibe and sound perfectly.
The setlist features songs from across their discography, with an emphasis on songs from their most recent album. Kelly performed mostly on the vocals, even at times dropping to his knees to belt a little harder. Huber complements this by showing off his Swiss Army knife array of instruments. He rotated between playing his iconic watermelon guitar, an electronic drum kit, and a mini synthesizer. Despite Kelly’s vocal dominance, Huber still got his moments to shine, with backup vocals filtered through his Daft Punk-style voice modulator.
Vocal manipulation became a recurring theme of the performance. On top of pitching vocals up and down for certain songs, Kelly gets to showcase his vocals and the night’s true star: his talk box. For the uninitiated, the talk box is a sort of instrument that allows the artist to shape an instrument’s sound using their voice through a tube. Kelly used this for almost every song and was more than happy to give the audience a demonstration. By the end of the night, audience members were chanting in support of the tube.
With change woven throughout the concert, from the name of the tour to the voices, it’s clear Cherub themselves are changing, too. The contrast between their 2014 songs and their 2026 songs is apparent. A song like “Monogamy”, in which Kelly sings that the title word is “not for me”, sits in stark contrast with a newer one quite literally titled “ILuvUBB”.
Fitting their season, Cherub’s 2025 album is one chock-full of love songs. Apart from the most popular songs such as “Disco S–t” and “Doses & Mimosas”, the setlist picks songs that have a love concept to them. “Freaky Me, Freaky You” or “Hold Me” feel tailored to soundtrack this year’s upcoming Valentine’s Day.
Any lingering worry of Cherub being defined by their most popular song was thoroughly disproven by Chelsea’s crowd. From the first notes of “Chocolate Strawberries” to the final moments of “Doses & Mimosas,” the audience was enthralled. Fans at the barricade sang along to the lyrics of their songs with ease. Blatant proof that there is a connection to Cherub as a whole rather than just a single hit.
Everything may change, but hopefully Cherub’s love for Baton Rouge doesn’t. There’s little doubt they will return – it’s just a matter of when.
