Birdy – Theater of the Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA – June 10, 2016 – Photo by Sami Speiss © 2016
Birdy & Bahari – Theater of the Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA – June 10, 2016
Bahari – individually known as Ruby Carr, Sidney Sartini, and Natalia Panzarella – is a new band coming out of Southern California with a sound described on their website as “radiant, harmony-rich, brightly melodic.” They opened for Birdy on June 10th at the Theatre of Living Arts.
Bahari – Theater of the Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA – June 10, 2016 – Photo by Sami Speiss © 2016
Bahari’s set, which consisted of about seven songs, could be described as having a mellow atmosphere. (Bahari is the Swahili word for “ocean.”) Between the smell of incense, colorful smoke and their fashionable-yet-completely-white wardrobe, you couldn’t help but feel the relaxed energy seeping into the crowd.
Throughout their set, Bahari did a great job of hyping the crowd up for Birdy by continuously mentioning her, not only as a great musician but also as an exceptional friend! At the end of their set Bahari announced that their newest EP, “Dancing in the Sun,” was just recently released and is available now on iTunes.
Bahari – Theater of the Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA – June 10, 2016 – Photo by Sami Speiss © 2016
While waiting for Birdy to grace the stage, Ruby, Sidney and Natalia made a point to try and meet every fan by the merchandise table – asking their names, how they enjoyed the show and how excited they were to see Birdy. Even though Bahari is still up-and-coming as a band, the audience seemed to welcome them with open arms and enjoyed their performance very much!
Then, Jasmine Elizabeth, better known by her stage name Birdy, took the stage. She played songs from her newest album Beautiful Lies (which really were very beautiful, whether or not they were lies), as well as songs from her older albums. Birdy ended the show with a bang by playing her version of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love.”
Birdy – Theater of the Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA – June 10, 2016 – Photo by Sami Speiss © 2016
You do not have to be a fan to see how passionate Birdy is about each and every song she plays. Watching her perform was not just about the performance itself, but rather about the music and lyrics. In every single song, she played a key instrument and contributed more than just her voice. Although Birdy has gained monumental success in the past year, it is more than obvious that it has not affected her attitude toward her music, performance or fans!
The audience ranged from young teenagers to older adults, every single one as eager as the next to see Birdy live. When you looked around, you did not see many people on their phones, except to record the music, which as we all know is pretty rare in 2016. Birdy had no trouble capturing everyone’s attention with her mesmerizing lyrics and outstanding voice. With the concert ending not too late into the night, Birdy left us longing for more of her amazing songs.
Urvi Kapoor
Copyright ©2016 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: June 18, 2016.
Photos by Sami Speiss © 2016