Caravan Palace at Brooklyn Steel NYC 4/11/25

Caravan Palace is a French electro-swing band known for blending vintage jazz and swing music with modern electronic beats. Formed in Paris in 2005, the band quickly gained popularity for their energetic, danceable sound and retro-futuristic style. Their music features a mix of live instruments—like violin, double bass, and clarinet—alongside electronic production, creating a unique fusion of both jazz and EDM.

Their self-titled debut album, released in 2008, was a hit in Europe, followed by successful releases like Panic (2012), <|°_°|> (2015), Chronologic (2019) and, most recently, Gangbusters Melody Club (2024). Caravan Palace is also known for their lively, theatrical live performances and striking music videos, often incorporating animated or surreal visuals. They're just wrapping up their long awaited North American tour - they stopped by Brooklyn Steel on April 11th, 2025. Photographer here at Punk Pulse Media, Lara Ziccardi, headed into the city to catch the show!

To be completely honest, Caravan Palace has not just been a dream show to photograph but a dream show to see. The last time they toured the U.S. was 2022, previously performing at Brooklyn Steel. I started listening to Caravan Palace about five years ago in April and I’ve been listening to them ever since. 

I’m going to be completely honest here… I didn’t know what kind of crowd to expect. Their genre is electro-swing so I was hoping a lot of people were dancing and jumping around but I was also thinking the opposite. Was the Brooklyn crowd going to pull up and bring the heat? Or just stand there with their hands in their pockets?

Caravan Palace played every single instrument live and they sounded incredible. There were two musicians who played brass - a trombone and a saxophone, who would sometimes switch to an alto sax. They also had a bass musician who played an actual four string bass guitar and a silent electric cello, along with using some drum pads. There was a keyboardist who also played the xylophone, a guitarist who also played keys, I could go on and on. One of my favorite parts is that the lead singer and front-woman, Zoé Colotis, plays clarinet and saxophone. This is the most complex show I think I’ve ever shot. 

They opened the show with “Clash” off their sophomore album Panic; which is one of my favorite songs by them. I loved that “Clash” was their first song - there’s something about the electronics and the beat and the vocals that scratches my brain perfectly. “Dragons,” “Wonderland,” “Reverse,” and “Raccoons” came next - which I think was a great mix of their new and older songs.

This entire paragraph is for “Black Betty.” So, “Black Betty” is a single that came from the <|°_°|>. The crowd erupted, and so did I. It was so captivating hearing the song live (it’s another one of my favorites). Colotis had been getting the crowd to sing, pointing the mic at them and the crowd screaming back to her. The crowd was jumping, the band was moving - the energy in the venue during this song was electrifying. If you've read some of my reviews before, you know how much I like to dance! And I of course was dancing while I was photographing. This was the last song I was able to photograph in the photo pit for and it was AMAZING. I have so much love for that song. You will always be famous, “Black Betty.” 

After “Black Betty,” “Midnights” came after - which I thought was a nice palette cleanser. After I exited the photo pit and entered the crowd, Brooklyn Steel was PACKED! I love seeing so many people attending this show. While I was walking through the crowd, I had a challenging time navigating my way through. Because I was working through the crowd, I wish I was able to enjoy one of my favorite songs off their latest record Gangbusters Melody Club, “City Cook.” Even though I was making my way through, I still enjoyed it. Off topic but last spring semester when the new album came out, I wrote an album review for Gangbusters Melody Club for a class midterm! It wasn’t officially published but here’s the Google Doc if you’d like to check it out!

As of right now, we’re about half way through the setlist. I really liked how the songs that have the same vibe and feel were grouped together - like how the more electronic leaning songs were played together and the more swing and jazz leaning songs were played together as well.

After “Russian,” “Tattoos” (another personal favorite!), “Aftermath” (which went viral on TikTok earlier this decade), all from the <|°_°|> record, we got hit with two newbies, “MAD” and “81 Special.” After those, another one of my all-time favorites was played and that’s “About You” from their 2019 album, Chronologic. Okay, I know I’m claiming to have a lot of favorites, and I promise they are! Now my other favorite off the latest album is “Mirrors” which was so fun and of course sounded incredible. 

I’m scared to talk about the crowd… And as a writer and a music journalist, I must write the truth! I was honestly expecting more from them. Caravan Palace was putting on such an amazing show. Some were very fun and engaging while singing along, jumping, and dancing! While others just… stood there. I want to be clear, I’m not judging - dancing is not everyone’s vibe and everyone attends concerts differently. I personally was hoping for most of the crowd, especially near the barricade, to be jumping and dancing but alas… that was not the case. I was a little shocked since this is a band I LOVE to dance to. But that is okay! I found a small group in the crowd that was very active! I also noticed there was a mix of age ranges. I liked seeing a variety because it shows how much the band has grown over the past twenty or so years.

We hit the swing/jazz vibe after "Mirrors" with “Fool” and “Rock It for Me.” And then we quickly approach the last few songs of the night. “Mighty,” another one of my favorites, and kicking it back to their debut with “Brotherswing.” 

Right before the encore, Caravan Palace played their big hit “Lone Digger” and at this point in the setlist, my booty was indeed shaking. Speaking of “Long Digger,” it's officially hit platinum in the USA! The plaque was gifted to the band at the end of the Brooklyn Steel show. Like most concerts nowadays, we got a little break before the encore. The encore of the night was “Comics,” “Je m’amuse,” and “Jolie coquine.” And with that, Caravan Palace has wrapped their 25 song setlist!

Caravan Palace delivered one of the most amazing performances I’ve seen. Every single instrument was played live and I felt I saw every single member put their heart and soul into the performance. They're not the kind of music I normally photograph but I loved capturing a different genre! As for the crowd, I might have to take them out dancing to loosen up and get down at somepoint but we’ll workshop it! A very special thank you and shout out to Caravan Palace's team for allowing me to shoot press! Hopefully they’ll be back in the US soon!