Parson James Had His 1st Headlining L.A. Gig At The Peppermint Club [PHOTOS]

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Parson James at The Peppermint Club 9/19/17. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.

West Hollywood, CA- Parson James is a singer songwriter who is the featured vocalist on Kygo’s huge, global 2015 hit “Stole The Show”. You can imagine how surprised I was then when he announced to the intimate crowd at The Peppermint Club that his performance that evening was his first headlining gig in the City of Angels.

To describe this performance as intimate may be a bit of an understatement. In the dimly lit venue with only a yellow spotlight shining down on him during the performance (the photos below were heavily edited), Parson crooned his way through a solid set that included stripped down versions of the songs he is known for (his acoustic version of “Stole The Show” was particularly beautiful) and a handful of songs that I presume were works in progress.

I think it behooves us to note that Parson James, at his musical core, is more R&B than EDM. Sure, Kygo’s “Stole The Show” is dance club banger, but Parson grew up singing in churches, and on this evening he let his soul shine through his mellifluous voice. Without the distraction of heavy beats, and distorted effects, Parson wailed the night away to showcase the range and depth of his vocal range. It was a revelation in and of itself.

But what made his performance particularly engaging were the deeply personal stories that he told in between songs. Whether it was stories of his life growing up as a bi-racial kid in a closed-minded town, the pride he showered upon his single mother who raised him or the love-pains he experienced as young, gay man, this evening gave the small, West Hollywood crowd insight into the life of a young man trying to match and exceed the success of his chart-topping debut.

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