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Santa Monica, CA- What an incredible night watching the 19-year-old singer-songwriter take the stage at Santa Monica Pier on Thursday, June 22nd. Throngs of Khalid fans packed Santa Monica Beach for the first show of the ever so popular Twilight Concert Series. Nearly 60,000 people rushed to the Santa Monica Pier for a chance to see Khalid perform. Considering it was a free show and the cultivating buzz of Khalid, many fans were in line as early as 7 a.m.
Khalid is a fresh face to the R&B game with hit singles like “Location” and “Hopeless” topping the music charts. Combining his classic soul voice with cutting edge music, this artist from El Paso, Texas seems poised to forge a new path in the ever changing musical landscape.
Raised by a military family, Khalid lived in Germany and upstate New York before settling in Texas. While still a teenager, he began making music in 2015, incorporating influences as wide ranging as Frank Ocean, Alt-J and Father John Misty in the songs he posted online. His album, American Teen, embraces the spirit and themes of classics teen staples such as “The Breakfast Club” and “90210” through a lens of soul-driven cinematic 21st century pop. Tracks like “8TEEN” and “Young Dumb & Broke” celebrate what life is like for young people. “Living a good life full of good vibes,” as he sings on his hit single “American Teen”, Khalid is on to something on his debut album, and the massive crowd at the pier seemed to be the living proof.
The Santa Monica Pier reached its maximum capacity early, with reports that this concert may have possibly been the most well-attended show since the concert series began in the 1980s. Police and fire officials were blocking off the pier’s entrance due to serious safety hazard. “This is the craziest amount of people we have seen for this concert series. We don’t think the pier can withstand this many people” police said. Of course, dedicated Khalid fans didn’t let that stop them from enjoying a free Khalid concert. Instead, thousands of fans occupied the their own tiny patch of sand on the beach just so they could at least hear Khalid serenade his fans.
The 19-year-old singer/songwriter took the stage at exactly 8:40 p.m., and by 8:45, everyone was up on their feet cheering for him. It was an unreal experience even for someone like myself who has attended hundreds of concerts. He kicked off the show by opening with one of his hits “Let’s Go” which had the entire crowd singing along. This is personally one of my favorite songs and as Khalid sang, “Pick up your worries and throw them out the window”, I couldn’t help but let the music consume me.
He then performed a rendition of “Lost” by Frank Ocean. This was honestly one of my favorite moments from the show as I’m a HUGE fan of Frank Ocean as well as the album “channel ORANGE.” To hear Khalid covering a Frank Ocean song in his own classical retro soul style was liberating.
Khalid rise to fame seems to have no end in sight. With his first album debuting in the Top 10 of The Billboard 200, and with his single “Location” currently sitting at #16 on the Hot 100- almost a YEAR after it was first released in 2016- there no question that 2017 will be a pretty good year for the kid. After all, how many 19 year olds has the kind of juice to force Santa Monica police to issue public safety advisories? One thing is certain though … He’s going to need some bigger venues.
Follow Khalid on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SANTA MONICA PIER TWILIGHT CONCERTS 2017 COVERAGE!
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