First City Festival | August 23 & 24, 2014 | Homepage

This is the “Homepage” for the links to all of the blog entries posted about the acts I was able to catch at First City Festival, August 23 and 24, 2014. Below are links to Instagram video posts, photos and some brief thoughts about each band that I was able to enjoy in beautiful Monterey.

To read my “Love Letter” to First City Festival CLICK HERE.

Saturday, August 23th

Sunday, August 24th

The Zombies | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 8/21/14 [INSTAGRAM VIDS]

CLICK HERE to check out other acts I caught at the Twilight Concert on the Santa Monica Pier!

Below are Instagram clips of some of the songs from The Zombies set at the Santa Monica Pier as part of the Twilight Concert Series. Instagram’s embed settings are, unfortunately, too large for WordPress, but hopefully, you’ll still be able to click through to watch the video clips. Enjoy.

 

CLICK HERE to check out other acts I caught at the Twilight Concert on the Santa Monica Pier!

Lecrae | BET Experience: Music Matters | 6/29/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

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On the second day of the BET Experience at L.A. Live, I decided to watch the various acts performing on the main stage of the convention center. Each of the acts performed short sets to give the audience a sampling of what their music was all about.

The last act I was able to catch at the BET Experience music festival was Lecrae; a Christian rapper who has amassed quite a loyal fan base through his crunk beats and his verses on Christ.

With a new album scheduled for release on September 9th, his 7th album titled “Anomoly”, there little doubt that he will soon be charting on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart before the year’s end.

Check out Lecrae’s Facebook page to keep up with her music. CLICK HERE to get redirected to Facebook.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs Lecrae performed at this concert.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

Elle Varner | BET Experience: Music Matters | 6/29/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

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On the second day of the BET Experience at L.A. Live, I decided to watch the various acts performing on the main stage of the convention center. Each of the acts performed short sets to give the audience a sampling of what their music was all about.

The fifth act I was able to catch was Elle Varner; an R&B artist who emerged during the early 2010s, whose single “Refill” charted in March 2012. Her debut album, “Perfectly Imperfect”, was one of the only female R&B albums that I purchased that year.

Currently working on her sophomore album, she recently released a single titled “Don’t Wanna Dance” featuring A$AP Ferg. If her follow up is anything like her debut, I’ll be sure to pick up a copy of it to add it to my collection.

Check out Elle’s Facebook page to keep up with her music. CLICK HERE to get redirected to Facebook.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs Elle Varner performed at this concert.

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

Tiara Thomas | BET Experience: Music Matters | 6/29/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

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On the second day of the BET Experience at L.A. Live, I decided to watch the various acts performing on the main stage of the convention center. Each of the acts performed short sets to give the audience a sampling of what their music was all about.

The fourth act I was able to catch was Tiara Thomas; a singer-songwriter who had a hit as a featured artist on Wale‘s 2013 single “Bad“. Currently signed to Interscope Records, she is currently in the process of putting together debut, full-length album, tentatively titled “The Bad Influence”. To get updated on the progress of her forthcoming album,

Check out Tiara’s Facebook page to keep up with his music. CLICK HERE to get redirected to Facebook.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs Tiara Thomas performed at this concert.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

Roman GianArthur | BET Experience: Music Matters | 6/29/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

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On the second day of the BET Experience at L.A. Live, I decided to watch the various acts performing on the main stage of the convention center. Each of the acts performed short sets to give the audience a sampling of what their music was all about.

The third act I was able to catch was Roman GianArthur; a singer-songwriter who is a member of Janelle Monae‘s Wondaland Arts Society collective. His performance was quite impressive. His music was an infusion of soul and funk, reminiscent of Stevie Wonder (he did cover “Superstition”) and D’Angelo. His guitar skills were on point, and the way he played reminded be a bit of Prince.

Charismatic and skillful, his set really opened my eyes. He’s definitely someone I’ll be keeping tabs on. Check out Roman’s Facebook page to keep up with his music. CLICK HERE to get redirected to Facebook.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs Roman GianArthur performed at this concert.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

Jonathan McReynolds | BET Experience: Music Matters | 6/29/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

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On the second day of the BET Experience at L.A. Live, I decided to watch the various acts performing on the main stage of the convention center. Each of the acts performed short sets to give the audience a sampling of what their music was all about.

The second act I was able to catch was Jonathan McReynolds; a contemporary gospel artist who ministers through music. His music is a fusion of R&B, jazz and gospel.

His set seemed shorter than the others, but he was still able to able to touch the audience with his message and, as he joked, made them feel okay about missing church that Sunday.

Check out Jonathan’s Facebook page to keep up with his music. CLICK HERE to get redirected to Facebook.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs Jonathan McReynolds performed at this concert.

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

LiV Warfield | BET Experience: Centric Certified | 6/29/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

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On the second day of the BET Experience at L.A. Live, I decided to watch the various acts performing on the main stage of the convention center. Each of the acts performed short sets to give the audience a sampling of what their music was all about.

The first act I was able to catch was LiV Warfield, a powerful R&B vocalist and member of Prince’s New Power Generation. Prince is high on LiV, and the public should be too.

Passionate, soulful and dynamic, her live performance is one that engages the audience and gives everyone a serious case of happy feet. It certainly didn’t hurt that she was supported by a first class band (with Prince’s NPG Hornz).

I was duly impressed with her set, and I highly recommend catching her perform live when she is in your town.

Like her Facebook page by CLICKING HERE to keep updated on her touring.

Setlist:

  1. The Unexpected
  2. NotGVNGUP
  3. Soul Lifted
  4. Why Do You Lie
  5. Black Bird

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs LiV Warfield performed at this concert.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

Tank | BET Experience: Acoustically Speaking | 6/28/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

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Hosted by the former Rap City and 106 & Park host Big Tigger, perhaps my favorite part of the BET Experience FREE Fan Fest was the intimate afternoon of performances at the Acoustically Speaking showcase. Taped live in front of an audience of not more than 300, the performances and interviews gave me an opportunity to “Experience” the sounds of some seriously talented, developing and established recording artists.

Each artist performed a short set of 4-5 songs. Each performance was followed by a one-on-one interview with Big Tigger. The performances and the interviews gave audience members an opportunity to really connect with each of the artists. It was truly a one of a kind performance experience.

Closing the Acoustically Speaking showcase was Tank. Clearly, his performance was for the ladies. As he walked on the she stage in his fitted, all-black, three-peice suit, the females in the audience erupted with pleasure. Clearly, he knows how to cater to his audience, even interrupting the performance by walking off-stage to give a zealous fan a hug.

But perhaps the most genuine moment of the set was when he gave his young daughter, sitting two rows behind me, a shout out and preached that he does what he does for the women (his daughter and his wife) in his life. In a fit of approval, his daughter went HAM with cheers of approval. Cuteness overload.

During his interview with Big Tigger, he dropped some updates on the projects he was working one, giving the audience of females a chance to cheer some more with his announcement that TGT (his collaborative musical efforts with Tyrese and Ginuine) was in the process of putting together another album.

Hopefully, BET will air the entire performance and interview at some point, but in the meantime, CLICK HERE to check out what video clips have been posted on BET’s website.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs Tank performed at this concert.

By this time in the day, my second (and last) battery pack was running on empty. My camera intermittently shut off while I was shooting this performance, and I didn’t really have time (or the battery) to set the camera to the right settings, so I shot with whatever setting my camera was already set at. I wish the photos could have been better, but I guess I’ll have to live with them. Next time, I’ll remember to bring a THIRD battery pack. LOL.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

Yuna | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 7/17/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]


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