Sixpence None the Richer
The Church Studio
July 12, 2025
When Sixpence None the Richer went into a replicant performance of their nigh unavoidable 1998 song “Kiss Me” at the Church Studio last Saturday night, I felt a full-body flush of nostalgic joy, remembering the radio and all the other places this song spoke to us: the movie She’s All That, the soundtrack to Dawson’s Creek, and even a BBC broadcast of a royal wedding, if you’re into that sort of thing. I spent the late 1990s glued to pop radio, and whenever I hear even a whiff of any hit single of that era, my brain cells realign to my early teenage self. In my head, I can replay every instrumental solo and errant “yeah” or “whoa” from every hit song from that year.
It’s barely possible for a band to imbue itself into the DNA of the entire culture anymore, so it’s something special to recall a time when it was, and because of this, I absolutely understand the trend of ‘90s band reunions and reconsuming art that used to make you happy to see if it still does. I’m not the only one: “Kiss Me” went triple platinum in 2024, a year before K-Pop behemoth Lisa of Blackpink interpolated portions of the song for her single “Moonlit Floor.” As of writing, that song has 340 million streams on Spotify alone. Lisa was born in 1997. All this to say, I don’t reflexively have a “THAT band is still together?” reaction when I see someone coming through Oklahoma: Counting Crows will be here in August. Wilson Phillips will be at Hard Rock in September. Nelly is here all the time.
Even without all that context, I was excited to be offered the chance to review a Sixpence show, because I legitimately liked this band, the hits and also the entire self-titled album that housed “Kiss Me.” With its heavy orchestration and fairytale imagery, it was kind of a gentle, bookish (the band name is a C.S. Lewis reference) answer to alternative rock radio.