Contributed by: Michelle Darrah
Jessie Reyez was scheduled to perform early Saturday at Outside Lands, so we made sure to be there early as well. Rolling Stone featured Reyez in an article "Lolapolooza 2018: The 13 Best Things We Saw" for the best #MeToo Moment during her performance at Chicago’s Lolapolooza the weekend prior. The article increased our excitement to see her performance. Reyez did not disappoint.
Walking toward the stage, we heard "Shutter Island," a high energy song that was our original introduction to the skills of Jessie Reyez. We immediately noticed Reyez' stage presence. Between songs, she engages with the crowd in a way that is very genuine and sincere. Her personality shines through.
During the #MeToo Moment, Reyez spoke of an experience with a music producer early in her career. She then went into the song, "Gatekeeper," which she wrote as a result of the experience. The raw emotion was evident as Reyez ended the song yelling, "The #MeToo Movement is not fucking new." She delivered a very powerful message in a very authentic way.
Reyez then spoke openly of her own times of depression, asking the crowd to raise their hands and admit their own feelings of depression. She then sat down on a stool, pulled out her guitar, and went into her song "Figures." This song is much softer, but the emotion in it is just as evident. “Figures” was an obvious crowd favorite, as many attendees knew the lyrics and sang along with Reyez.
We walked away from the performance wondering if any other performance of the day would top it, and while the rest of the day featured some amazing artists, Reyez remained the favorite.
“Figures” on Jimmy Fallon
“Shutter Island” by Jessie Reyez
No comments:
Post a Comment