After Brings Authentic Y2K Sound to Space Ballroom

In an era where popular culture has been riding off nostalgia-bait, renditions, and endless references, one up-and-coming band approaches the sound and aesthetics of the early 2000s with careful study and an impressively authentic style.

Arriving fresh off of a shout-out by the Rolling Stone magazine on Instagram earlier that day, After performed a sold-out show at Space Ballroom in Hamden last Friday night. They performed songs from their debut album, Fell Asleep in the Sun, which was released on September 18, 2026. Digital tunes and crisp vocals (think Michelle Branch and Imogen Heap) transported audience members back in time 25 years.

Hailing from Los Angeles, the duo consists of Justine Dorsey and Graham Epstein, who are both 31. Formed in 2023, they describe themselves as atmospheric Y2K trip-pop. “This is what changing your Windows XP user icon to the blue butterfly sounds like,” one fan commented on their Bandcamp page.

In keeping with casual Y2K fashion, Dorsey sported a black jersey knit dress atop dark jeans. A strategically-placed fan billowed air through her blond hair, adding a cheesy yet cinematic touch to the minimalist stage set-up. Multiple fans whipped out their digital cameras to capture key moments of the performance.

Fans traveled from all over Connecticut to see the duo perform, with some coming from neighboring states. Dorsey pointed out a few fans she recognized from New York City, where they just performed two sold-out nights at Bowery Ballroom. One fan shared that she drove down from Boston for the show.

Sisters Alex and Morgan Lafontan, who traveled from New Milford to see the show.

For the encore, Dorsey joked that it wouldn’t make sense for them to leave the stage to return for their last couple songs, since the audience would be able to see them standing off to the side anyways.

The concert closed with "Outbound,” one of their top hits. Its music video garnered over 590,000 views on YouTube, with creative direction reminiscent of Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn.”

Opening for After was Silverdeer, also a Los-Angeles based duo comprised of Halsey Bousquet and Nika Fazeli. Following the release of their alternative, dream pop debut EP, ‘House of Devotion,” on August 28, 2026, this was the band’s first time on tour.

Lead singer Bousquet’s stage presence was magnetic, with effortless California-girl charisma. The audience joined in swaying, head-bobbing, and shrunk low to the ground then jumped back up when prompted.

One audience member, Kaitlyn, who declined to provide a last name, said she heard about After a couple years ago via Instagram. “I love anything 2000s, and everything that’s nostalgic-sounding,” she said.

Ashton Gleed and Erika Suggs, both students at the University of New Haven, attended the concert together. “I started listening to [After] about a year ago. I found them on TikTok, and I’ve been obsessed with their sound ever since,” Suggs, a music and sound recording major, said.

Though Gleed, a graphic design major, heard about the band through Suggs, the group piqued his interest, too. “I thought the visuals of their albums and music videos were really cool,” Gleed said.

Among other visual and cinematic trends of the late 1990s and early 2000s, After pulls from Frutiger Aero, a tech design style from the mid to late 2000s that includes elements such as glossy textures, vibrant greens and blues, nature-inspired elements, and bokeh effects.

Bosquet praised the “intimate vibes” of the small venue, which has a capacity of 300 people, allowing her to connect with everyone in the audience on Silverdeer’s first-ever tour. Similarly, Epstein said the show felt “amazing” and that he enjoyed seeing everyone in the crowd sing along.

Dorsey said that touring has been the best part of After’s rise to fame. She noted that her relationship to “Fell Asleep in the Sun” shifted after being able to share it with audiences.

“When you go on tour, you get to have this new life for [the album] with a bunch of other people,” Dorsey said. “It’s really magical.”

For both bands, this was their first time in the Nutmeg State. “Driving through Connecticut today was like a storybook,” Bosquet said. In the limited time the group has before departing towards their next tour stop, Fazeli said she hopes to have an apple cider donut to experience the fall season.

“This is the coolest tour we could’ve ever asked to be a part of,” Fazeli said. “Justine and Graham are the sweetest people ever…we’re just like a big family. It’s just so fun. We’re having the best time; I don’t want it to end.”

Learn more about After by visiting their website. See the lineup for Space Ballroom’s upcoming shows here.