On Tuesday, Oct. 29, R&B artist Steve Lacy performed at the San Diego Observatory in North Park for his Apollo XXI world tour.
In March, he released his debut solo album, “Apollo XXI” which ended up on Complex’s list of the best albums of 2019 (so far). The album combined funk and R&B with lo-fi pop production and was completely produced by Lacy.
The concert had a strict no-photo policy, with security placing signs on the stage reading “Show me your face! Not your phone.” Many concertgoers attempted to break this rule during the show; some were successful, while others were escorted out by security.
The doors opened at 7 p.m., but after a two-hour wait, the lights dimmed and Lacy made his grand entrance to the stage.
He approached the mic with an enormous grin on his face, and the spotlight radiated off his smile.
His message for the crowd was short as he yelled, “Welcome to the Apollo Tour!” followed by thunderous applause.
During the performance, Lacy showed off his acoustic ability by launching into a guitar solo midway through his 9-minute track, “Like Me.”
By the time Lacy performed the album’s hit single “Playground,” he had switched to a glittery, pink electric guitar. Throughout the concert, he switched between four guitars, each with their own distinct design.
Lacy further electrified the crowd when playing the album’s lead single, “N Side.” Despite being a slow song, the crowd chaotically swayed towards the stage to get a closer view of Lacy.
The album’s closing track, “Outro Freestyle/4ever,” took the crowd from swaying to jumping.
“Every single person in here better be jumping to Outro!” Lacy screamed.
During the song, Lacy unbuttoned his dress shirt and discarded it on stage, causing the audience to storm towards the stage barrier and push against concertgoers in the first row. Two girls were then lifted out of the crowd by security after attempting to crowd surf onto the stage.
After blazing through the album’s tracklist, Lacy began performing some of his older material, including his inaugural single “C U Girl.” He also debuted a new song for the audience.
Lacy closed the show by performing “Dark Red” three times straight, with each successive rendition eliciting a bigger reaction from the crowd.
As Lacy left the stage, he blew kisses into the crowd and the audience pleaded for another encore.
Before his debut solo album, he released his EP “Steve Lacy’s Demo” in 2017. His popular song, “Dark Red” has over 41 million streams on Spotify.
Besides producing his own music, Lacy has put together a resume of production credits over the past few years. Lacy is 21 years old, but he has already collaborated with renowned artists such as Solange, Vampire Weekend and J. Cole.
By 19, Lacy won a Grammy for co-writing and producing the song “Pride,” from Kendrick Lamar’s 2017 album, “DAMN.”
At the age of 21, Lacy has years to reach his full potential as a performer.
