Francene Rouelle "off the carousel" Release Show Ft. Allie Arnaez & Xyzsa Love
Written by Leila Miranda | September 7, 2025
photos by Leila Miranda
On July 28th Francene Rouelle excitedly announced a special album release show. Set to take place on September 7th in Austin's 29th Street Ballroom, featuring Allie Arnaez & Xyzsa Love.
After charming listeners with her debut "Finally a fairytale”, singer-songwriter Francene Rouelle comes back yet again with another dreamy, but emotionally vulnerable project. Her new album “Off the Carousel” spans eight tracks, listening as she unpacks the cycles we often find ourselves trapped in. Whether it be inherited, repeated, or self-imposed it explores the difficult and ongoing process of breaking free from them.
Opening for Francene is Xyzsa Love, a self-taught artist who broke into the music scene with her 2023 single “I Hate Falling in Luv.” Since then, Xyzsa Love has gained popularity with notable songs like “Aomine Daiki,” “Fanta!,” and “Ubae.”
Xyzsa Love performed for 30 unforgettable minutes, giving fans a glimpse into her upcoming work. Sharing two brand-new, unreleased tracks, “This song will be dropping sometime in October!” she announced with excitement. “It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve written for this EP. It’s called ‘Who’s There,’ and I hope you guys like it.” A little context for her second unreleased track "How many Jujutsu Kaisen fans do we have in here?” she asked. A few hands shot up, met with excitement. “Well, this song is based on one of the movies. If you know the love story between Yuta and Rika, that’s what inspired it.” Those that know of the series jujitsu kaisen were eager to hear what xyzsa had been working on.
Before wrapping up, Xyzsa took a moment to show love to the audience. “You guys have been amazing, I just want to thank you for having me,” she said sincerely, closing her set with the same warmth and energy she brought from the start.
The second opener of the night, Allie Arnaez, made a dynamic entrance that had the crowd on their feet. Her set began with a high energy duet performed by her backup dancers, whose sharp choreography immediately grabbed the crowd’s attention. Just as the audience was settling into the performance, Allie made a surprise appearance mid-routine, jumping in with the dancers and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Launching into tracks from her latest EP FM Radio, a genre-blending mix of pop and R&B, Allie kept the energy high from start to finish. Songs like “Amnesia,” “Sin,” and “D34thw11sh” had fans dancing and singing along, as she and her dancers delivered jaw-dropping stunts and choreography that many in the crowd hadn’t seen.
“I want to thank Mhart for putting this all together,” Allie said between songs, pausing to catch her breath. “And I want to hear y’all scream for Francene right after me! She’s like my little sister and friend at the same time, it’s been such an honor to open up for her.”
Francene made a bold entrance alongside her dancers, drawing deafening cheers as the moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. The energy in the room lively as she paused to thank the crowd before diving into her set. “Thank you guys so much for being here!” she said, slightly out of breath but beaming with joy. “I’m truly out of breath right now, but I’m so incredibly grateful to see so many of you here for the release of Off the Carousel. It’s one of my favorite albums I’ve ever released, so it means so much to have you all here tonight.”
Midway through her performance, Francene surprised fans with an announcement: she would be performing “Mr. Too Perfect.” The crowd erupted in excitement, catching even her off guard. As cheers erupted from the audience, she laughed in disbelief.
“Oh gosh! You guys know this song?” she said, clearly moved by the crowd's enthusiasm.
Before diving into the track, she shared the story behind it.
“I wrote this song at a time in my life when I was really stuck in cycles,” Francene told the audience. “I was holding onto past experiences and past relationships. I realized that reflecting on my past was actually stopping me from growing, but at the same time. I found comfort in holding onto those moments.”
Those initial thoughts were the driving inspiration that drove her to create something like “Off the Carousel”
“That’s what this album is really about,” she continued. “Trying to break that cycle and continuously better myself.” Francene described the songwriting process as a deeply personal one, offering one of the key takeaways she gained from the experience:
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned from writing this album is that the past is the past for a reason. You can look at it but remember, it’s not your present.”
At the start of the show, Francene hyped up the crowd with an exciting announcement: two lucky audience members would be going home with special gifts. “The first gift,” she said, “goes to the person who shows me the most energy tonight.” Almost instantly, the crowd erupted into cheers, with voices shouting, “Me! Me! It’s gonna be me!”
She continued, “And the second gift goes to the person with the best fit.” Heads turned as people scanned the room, mentally sizing up the competition for best dressed. Throughout the night, fans were dancing, singing along, and matching the energy of every performance. When it came time to pick the winner for “most energetic,” the crowd had no doubts, cheering in unison for one standout audience member. Francene then invited chosen fans picked out by audience members, onstage to let them decide who had the best outfit. The moment turned into a fun and light hearted fashion showdown, with the crowd cheering for their favorites.
Before wrapping up the night, Francene took a moment to thank her team, her family, and everyone who’s supported her from day one. And of course, she gave love to her fans: “Thank you all for coming out tonight and for showing just as much love to the openers as you did to me. I see it, and I appreciate it.”
