So, I did a thing. I had my very first performance in 5 years! It was an amazing experience and for the most part I'm really proud of myself. It was at an event in Oakland put on by my friend Ugochi called Taco Tuesgay. The venue was super cute and the people were amazing. The tacos by Chef Avery Zues were awesome! I did about a 30 minute set and it was the first time I actually live performed the R&B / Opera combo and it went really well! I still have some work to do on my voice but I feel confident about my ability to see this Hip Hopera (I've also heard it called Trap Opera) thing through!
I sang Expiration Date, Contemplating, Circles, Breaking My Own Heart, True Love and Blew It. True Love and Blew It seemed to be crowd favorites. I was super nervous on the first song and after listening back to some video footage my sister took it was SUUUPER pitchy. Everything else felt really comfortable. I really want to get to a point where I sound comfortable from start to finish. I will say that my stage presence game was ON POINT! haha. The crowd was engaged in my story and was super supportive and encouraging.
Speaking of the crowd, my good vocal coach friend Amanda, a couple of my students, two of my sisters and a cousin came out! My sister Yasmin is 8 months pregnant and played the meanest joke on me when I was sound checking for the show! She told me she wasn't coming (which I could understand because of the weather and her being 8 months pregnant) but I had to hold back tears when she told me that. I FaceTimed her to get her opinion of my outfit and she was at the venue when I called her! It was my youngest sister Symone's first time seeing me perform live. I'm so glad she could make it out :). It was also my cousin Jahron's first time which is super cool!
I realized halfway through that the camera that I had set on my tripod was not recording, and that really sucked. But I did get the last 3 songs and they came out pretty good. Leading up to the performance I only started practicing about 12 days before.. I really don't know why I waited so long but now I'm dedicating myself to practicing at least 3x a week (if not every day) for future performances. I've been reaching out HEAVY to lots of different venues and events. Ok, probably like 5 but thats more than I've ever reached out to in my life hahaha!
I did get some BTS footage leading up to the performance so I'll be working on editing that this weekend so I can post it some time next week. In the mean time, here are some photos and video from the event! Hope to see you at one soon!
xo Shari