LOS ANGELES, CA- The lights dimmed at The Novo and it was like the room inhaled all at once—shoulders tensed, voices rose, and suddenly the space felt smaller, hotter, more alive. A charge ran through the crowd, not the wild kind yet, but the kind that hums just under the surface, waiting to blow. Before SAINt JHN even made it to the stage, the crowd had been worked into a frenzy by two openers who treated their slots like headlining gigs. Every inch of the floor felt tighter, packed with people on their toes, buzzing off the energy in the room. You could feel the weight of something about to break open, like a pressure cooker hissing louder by the minute.
It was one of those nights where the undercards refused to play small, and the energy fed off itself. You could see it in the way people leaned forward, scanning the stage, craning their necks anytime a light flickered or a speaker crackled. It didn’t feel like a warm-up. It felt like we were already halfway through a marathon and still accelerating. Drinks sloshed in plastic cups, friends shouted over the noise, and somewhere deep in the pit, a chant or two tried to spark. The Novo had stopped being a venue and turned into something else entirely—a place where no one wanted to miss whatever was about to happen.
Jordan Hawkins looked like he stepped out of a VHS tape from 1986—snake-print leather pants, a faded denim jacket, and mirrored wraparound sunglasses. It was as if he were a funky Blade Runner in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. His voice had a slightly MJ-leaning falsetto, but it was his guitar work that really stole the spotlight. Bold, precise, and dripping with flair, it made the stage feel small—despite it being just him and a bassist.
He didn’t speak much, except for one standout moment when he slid his shades off and introduced a song called “Emotions.” “I want you to see my eyes as I sing this,” he said. A little taboo, but extremely sultry. Though his vocals didn’t always hit the mark, his charisma and technical chops more than made up for it. He’s got breakout potential written all over him.
Next up was Honey Bxby, who, if you didn’t know any better, you’d think was the headliner. Honey stepped onto the stage in a glittery two-piece and white fuzzy boots, and The Novo turned into her playground. Dancing as if she owned every inch of the room, she started singing, demanding the attention of everyone in attendance. Her energy was magnetic—sass, fire, and showmanship in one tight, flirty package. She commanded The Novo. We were hers to mold.
I say we were hers to mold because she led us the entire set. Every move across the stage made the crowd swell in her direction, people instinctively inching closer. She and her DJ played off each other, teasing and hyping us in equal measure. “I can’t hear you, L.A.!” she shouted, and the room erupted. Her DJ sparked a chant—“Go Honey, Go Honey!”—and cracked a joke about Honey being the best dressed and the baddest bitch in the room. Every bit of it was effortlessly alluring.
She read us like a horoscope, literally—asking for our star signs before launching into a track about how you don’t cross Cancers and Leos. You could feel it in the pit—everyone was locked in. Strangers turned to each other, wide-eyed, saying “who is she?” as if we’d all just witnessed some kind of pop prophecy.
The set flew by but never felt rushed. She delivered track after track like postcards from a chaotic romance—sultry, wild, and self-assured. Right before her final song, she let out a scream of “I love you, L.A.” with a dazzling, paralyzing grin. The set ended with the crack of gunshot samples, a jolt that left us breathless, and then she was gone. Not even a parting salute from the stage. Offstage, she purred “byeeee” into the mic, leaving us all grinning like idiots.
I even caught her later, tucked into the edge of the pit, watching SAINt JHN’s set with the rest of us. That kind of thing always stands out—when an artist performs, kills it, and then sticks around to be part of the moment.
And there’s more on the way. Honey Bxby’s debut EP Raw Honey drops May 30th, and if it’s anything like her set, it’s going to be a scorcher. With eleven tracks steeped in love, pleasure, and power, the project promises to showcase her pen and bold personality. She’s already got a co-sign from Mary J. Blige and Busta Rhymes. Her single “Think I Might” rides a groove of smooth guitars and seductive keys, with lyrics that straddle the line between softness and edge.
Raw Honey is a statement: Honey Bxby’s here—and she is not leaving anytime soon.
SAINt JHN’s entrance felt larger-than-life, starting with an unexpected, wholesome moment—his young son stumbling out for a quick wave before being scooped back by mom. It was sweet, unscripted, and grounded the room before all hell broke loose. A massive glowing cross served as the stage’s centerpiece, doubling as a perch for JHN to climb and spit verses from above like a preacher of chaos and charisma. Mid-set, he leapt into the crowd, starting a mosh pit that turned the pit into a whirlpool of limbs and hype. The energy didn’t dip once.
It’s fitting that he’s touring his new album Festival Season right now—smack between Coachella weekends and surrounded by festival-ready crowds. The album, born from moments on the road, is meant to bottle that live chaos and give it back to the people. “I wanted to take those memories back with me on tour,” JHN has said1. And that’s exactly what this show felt like: a high-octane love letter to live performance. The timing couldn’t be more poetic, especially for his Coachella debut.
For those unfamiliar, SAINt JHN’s story starts in Brooklyn but spans Guyana, fashion runways, and Beyoncé collaborations. He dropped his debut Collection One in 2018, then built momentum with Ghetto Lenny’s Love Songs and his viral hit “Roses.” His roots are a blend of Jay-Z and Buju Banton, New York edge and dancehall fire.
This show was a reminder of why we show up: to catch the next wave, to be surprised, and to feel something real in a room full of strangers. We got rising stars, a first-time Coachella performer, and a crowd that knew they were witnessing something special.
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LIVE CLIPS
