utter novice needing help picking camera and lens for local music photography

hi everybody! total noob here needing help picking a camera and lens. the name of the game here is low-frills but nice photos; we’ll be using this for photographing local music shows (so small, dark rooms, and pretty close to the performers). here’s the questionnaire, and thank you so much in advance for any help and advice you can share!

* Budget: $500 USD for camera and lens
* Country: USA
* Condition: Used/refurbished
* Type of Camera: I don’t know, would appreciate help with this!
* Intended use: Photography
* If photography; what style: Close-up concert photograph of live music shows taking place in small poorly-lit rooms
* If video what style: n/a
* What features do you absolutely need: Built-in flash, fast and reactive autofocus for fast-paced shows
* What features would be nice to have: Easy to use straight out of the box, not a steep learning curve!
* Portability: Small bag
* Cameras you're considering: Canon EOS Rebel T7i, takes great photos but honestly a little too elaborate for what we need.
* Cameras you already have: n/a
* Notes: Basically total novices here, truly looking for something no-frills that takes great fast shots. I’ve also tried the Sony A7 IV, which took great pictures but was too complicated/powerful for what we needed.