Kehlani
at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, UK
words and photos by Dylan Maggs

When it comes to R&B, American singer/songwriter Kehlani is one at the top of her trade; and on December 12th, they stopped off at the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester as part of their 15-date ‘Blue Water Road Tour’. As I arrived into the beautiful city of Manchester and took the hour-long walk from Victoria Station to Victoria Warehouse, you could sense the excitement in the air as groups of fans sang lyrics out loud in what seemed to be a never-ending queue.

Gracing the stage first was Destin Conrad who many people would be aware that his first claim to fame was being a Vine personality, amassing over one million followers from posting comedy and dancing videos. However, now the Floridian singer is travelling the world supporting Kehlani. And it makes sense. Since the vine days, Destin has cultivated a passionate and devout fanbase, all of which were singing and screaming along to his majestic performance as he took over the Victoria Warehouse. With a capacity of 3,500, the venue isn’t small, in fact it is among the largest in Manchester.. So to say that everyone from left to right was singing along and smiling shows how much of an impression Destin made. Songs such as ‘IN THE AIR’ and ‘BILL$’ received the most love, and at one point in the set had all fans putting on their phone lights, which was a beautiful moment to match his dreamy sound.

Fans were then treated to a 30-minute DJ set, playing the most notable songs in the current R&B scene including songs by Tyler the Creator and even current top-tier meme track ‘Rich Flex’ by Drake and 21 Savage.

It was now Kehlani’s time to shine, and almost in a literal sense because as soon as the R&B sensation stepped foot onto the stage, the blinding lights flooded the stage also, silhouetting Kehlani and making them look somewhat ethereal. Starting off their 23-song setlist with ‘Little Story’, the first track off their latest album blue water road, and one that fans instantly sunk into with the entire front row throwing arms up as they sung along to every word.

Kehlani’s powerful voice filled the warehouse and every note hit that feel-good part of your brain. As someone who has never seen them perform before, I was hooked and was grateful to have had the opportunity to watch such a talent. Not just in vocals, their performance as a whole was jaw-dropping. Accompanied by changing lighting design and back-up dancers throughout the entire set, there was nothing stale. Their dancing roots played a major part in the performance as the choreographed section drew incredible eye-catching moments.

Despite this tour being for the new album, it didn’t stop Kehlani from breaking into older material from albums such as It Was Good Until It Wasn’t and SweetSexySavage among other past projects. It was a given that most of the excitement would of been saved for their most popular tracks like ‘Toxic’, ‘Can I’ and ‘Honey’, but every song performed received an incredible amount of love and that shows the connection that Kehlani has with their fans, and how much of an incredible show they put on.

For me, my highlights had to be ‘Little Story’ as it was an incredibly aesthetically pleasing for the eye partnered with an incredible performance, the fans lighting up the room with their phone torches for ‘You Should Be Here’, and how could Kehlani breaking down into the robot dance during ‘Distraction’ not be a highlight. But truth be told, the whole show was a highlight, and they are a performer that everyone should have the chance to see live.

KEHLANI: MANCHESTER UK

DESTIN CONRAD

KEHLANI