Of course, you watched Kendrick Lamar, The Killers, MGMT, Arctic Monkeys and Logic, but did you see these amazing performances by these artists? If you didn’t, you truly missed out!
1. Rao Cragun
Reo Cragun is an upcoming star that you will be hearing about a lot in the future. Reo Cragun is a Washington state born artist, born and raised. His sound is a mixture of The Weeknd and DVSN with a touch of many of the popular indie bands of the early 2000’s. Unexpectedly Reo’s performance became one of my favourites at the festival ahead of Kendrick and SZA. An underdog, Reo’s apparent talent shines through and he is a contender to become a big artist in the next year. Reo gave a memorable show filled with humour and unmatched energy. His interaction with the audience made it a more special performance because of the level of intimacy between him and the audience. Check out ‘Inconsiderate’ and ‘In Too Deep’ to get familiar with Reo.
2. Berhana
After watching Berhana, I was actually angry that I didn’t know of his music beforehand. Berhana is an LA-based artist that mixes R&B with pop. The best way to describe his music is unexpectedly awesome. Much of his music takes you back and makes you feel like you are back in the 90’s. He has a knack for mixing 90’s vibes with modern R&B. During his set at Firefly, he displayed visuals of the Fresh Prince of Belair to aid in the performance of his wildly popular song ‘Janet’. I knew Berhana was a star when I saw many people singing along to his songs with nearly tears in their eyes. I can’t compare Berhana to any other artist because he is in a lane by himself. Check out ‘Janet’ and ‘ Grey Luh’ to get familiar with Berhana.
3. Betty Who
How to describe Betty Who? Energetic and spunky. This Australian-born singer gave a captivating and tantalizing performance at Firefly that left many in awe and partly afraid (in a good way!) Betty Who isn’t afraid to push the limits and give a great show. During her set, she did a cover of ‘Bartier Cardi’ by Cardi B and paired it with her own energetic dance moves, dancing with three male back up dances that she later changed to a female duo. Check out ‘If You’re Hearing This’ and ‘Human Touch’ to get familiar with Betty Who.
4. SZA
Although SZA is a popular artist, many fans weren’t sure she would be performing at Firefly after cancelling many of her tour stops. In fact, many fans were certain she would not be at the festival and decided to skip the Sunday line up. When SZA appeared on the Firefly Backyard stage, fans were pleasantly surprised and she ended up putting on a great show. Due to the uncertainty, many fans perhaps missed out on seeing her because they didn’t expect her to come. Her performance blew most people away and kept many wanting more from the artist. Check out ‘The Weekend’ and ‘Broken Clocks’ to get familiar with SZA.
