Kicking My Feet (And Every Other Feeling) in Denver

April 2, 2026 Keyali Mikaela

There’s a particular kind of trust that comes with being a casual fan. You know the songs that found you in quiet moments — the ones that played in your car at 2 a.m. or soundtracked a season of your life you can’t quite name. You come to the show without a rigid wishlist, and you leave having felt something you didn’t quite anticipate.

That’s exactly what Ruel delivered at Denver’s Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom on March 25th.

I’ve been loosely orbiting Ruel’s world since 2019, when Free Time caught me the way only a certain kind of sad, specific pop record can. He was seventeen then and somehow already writing songs that felt older than they had any right to. So when the opportunity came to cover his Kicking My Feet Tour stop in Denver, I didn’t hesitate — even if I’d be going in more as a rediscovery than a devotee.

The evening opened with two openers, both worth arriving early for. Chelsea Jordan — Baltimore-raised R&B singer-songwriter, fresh off the release of her debut EP better late than not at all just five days prior — brought a warm, diaristic energy to the stage that immediately earned the room. Her songwriting is unflinchingly honest in the way that makes you feel like you’re reading someone’s journal and somehow seeing your own handwriting. If you don’t know “halfwaythru” yet, fix that. Mercer Henderson followed, extending the emotional throughline and setting up a crowd that was already emotionally primed by the time the headliner walked out.

Ruel opened with “Only Ever” and “Not What’s Going On” — a deliberate slow burn, easing the room in rather than demanding it. Then “Dazed & Confused” landed, and you could feel the collective recognition ripple through the crowd. That song is nearly a decade old now and still hits with the same gut-punch clarity. “Younger” followed, and the room sang every word back without prompting.

The mid-set was where the evening got genuinely interesting. “Destroyer” and “No News Is Good News” gave the set some texture and shadow, and then Ruel pulled out a cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” — the kind of choice that either feels indulgent or perfectly placed. Here, it was the latter. His voice on that song was quietly devastating, the room still in a way that only happens when everyone agrees, without saying so, that something real is happening.

“Face to Face” and “Free Time” back to back felt like a homecoming. These are the songs that lived in playlists for years without ever overstaying their welcome, and hearing them live with a full band reframed them slightly — bigger, warmer, more certain of themselves, much like Ruel himself.

The run into the finale was relentless in the best way. “SOMEONE ELSE’S PROBLEM,” “YOU AGAINST YOURSELF,” “GROWING UP IS ____,” “Don’t Say That,” “Painkiller” — each one building until the room felt like it might actually lift off. Then the encore: “Japanese Whiskey,” a Cyndi Lauper cover that somehow worked completely, and finally “Kicking My Feet” to close — the tour’s title track landing exactly where it needed to.

Twenty-five songs. Over an hour of material ranging from career-defining hits to deep cuts to covers that felt personally chosen rather than strategically placed. Ruel didn’t perform like someone running through a checklist. He performed like someone who genuinely enjoys being in a room with people who care about the same music he does.

Cervantes rewarded that energy. It’s one of Denver’s best rooms — generous sight lines, warm acoustics, an intimacy that makes artists who know how to command a space look even better. Ruel knew how to command it.

If you came as a casual fan, you left feeling like maybe you’d been underselling your investment all along.