Whew! It’s been a minute since I’ve reviewed any live music, but Kaiyah’s EP launch show at The Espy for their latest release What Comes Next was a great way to come back to the fold!
It was a full line up of queer and non-binary artists for the show, which is pretty incredible. We arrived just in time to catch second opener Xandri blasting their way through an incredible set. They just looked so at peace and comfortable when they were performing which made the night even more wholesome! I’m also always here for anyone who manages to squeeze a cheeky Chappell Roan song into their set.
Kaiyah Mercedes is probably the first artist I’ve interviewed before ever seeing them live, and seeing a much giddier side of their personality as they got swept up in the joy of their performance was really lovely. Decked out in striking red and black to complement the EP’s colour theme (and possibly their hair?) Kaiyah was every bit the pop star as they took to the stage.
The set was well crafted, mixing in tracks from their previous albums with the new material. It allowed Kaiyah to get into the groove of the familiar in between the nerve-wracking task of performing songs live with their band for the very first time. Higher energy tracks such as popular single Three Month Blackout got a great reaction from the room, although interestingly, it was new track 555 that really swept the crowd away. At almost 6 minutes long (5:55 to be precise) it’s a brave choice to perform live, but everyone was gently swaying along, fully absorbed in this gentle love song. And there has to be a special shoutout to Kaiyah’s Pink Pony Club encore, complete with costume change!
There were so many carefully planned details for the evening’s performance, from the little gift bags on arrival to the behind the scenes work creating accessibility guides before the show, and it makes Kaiyah Mercedes one of those artists that you’re desperate to know what they’d do with a bigger stage, and a bigger budget! I really hope that’s something I get to see one day.
Listen to What Comes Next here.