Jessie Reyez pours her heart out during her Friday evening set on the Coinbase stage for the second day of Lollapalooza on Aug. 4, 2023. Photo courtesy of Ismael Quintanilla III
Very beautifully stunning, powerfully fun and cathartic. That is how Jessie Reyez late Friday evening set at the Coinbase stage at Lollapalooza on the second day of the 2023 edition of the festival, can best be described. Which was also quite fittingly the very talented singer and songwriter’s second ever performance at the festival.
Jessie made quite the entrance with her guitarist playing before she came storming out with quite the entrance as she performed, MOOD. The Lollapalooza crowd as loud as ever clapping, screaming, cheering and even some, ‘Oh, my God!’ chants thrown out. As Jessie very gave a very powerful performance of the opening record from her most recent critically-acclaimed solo album, YESSIE. Keeping the very emotionally cathartic vibes going, she went into a very powerful and riveting performance of, Shutter Island. The crowd so emphatically singing along, as Jessie so smoothly then went into, BREAK ME DOWN. Also from her most recent album. The crowd really getting into the lyrics as they empathically sang along even more.
Reyez looking to keep the vibes of her most recent album, YESSIE, going. Would then go into performing MUTUAL FRIEND, ONLY ONE and STILL C U. Before taking things back to her debut album, BEFORE LOVE CAME TO KILL US, with a very powerful performance of, COFFIN.
You know you can’t go to any Jessie Reyez concert and or show without her giving commentary every so often explaining songs before she performs them. Which she did by explaining how when she was first started singing and hustled by bartending to make money before she made it. Then getting a chance to audition for a big name producer, she thought would help her career. Only to have him tell her some of the things she would have to do as a woman if she wanted to make it and become famous. Which she didn’t, but ended up helping her writing and releasing the powerfully cathartic, Gatekeeper, record of hers. That she performed next.
The crowd really showed their love for Jessie by singing along even more some of the most they did the whole night. When she went into a mashup of her 6LACK assisted collaborations, FOREVER and Imported. Jessie even before the performance seeing how many people in the crowd were single or in a relationship. Also seeing how many people were open to polygamy or have been in the friend zone with someone else and able to successfully get out of the friend zone into a relationship. Which one couple did and she mentioned their names in the lyrics when singing the mashup. Then going into how she had to be a songwriter before she actually became her own successful solo artist and that’s how she got her first No. 1 single. By writing Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa’s collaboration, One Kiss. Which is why she performed it, but did it to just dance and so the crowd could sing the lyrics and dance along.
Jessie Reyez would then go into how much she not only appreciated playing at Lollapalooza, but how much she loves and appreciates the city of Chicago and how much they have always supported her career since the beginning. Which is why she was exclusively performing for the first time her new untitled song. That she has been showing small snippets of her performing recently on her Instagram. Lollapalooza and Chicago getting the first performance and Jessie once again screaming, “I must really love, Chicago!” To be performing this for the first time. Which she actually only decided to end up doing after she was originally sat down with her guitar to do an acoustic performance of her very emotionally powerful hit record, FIGURES. Her mic not working when she tried to do the first time. She would eventually do so though after exclusively performing for the first time her new song.
Things would get even more emotional as Jessie closed out her set with a very beautifully stunning and powerfully performance of her emotionally powerful and triumphant single, LOVE IN THE DARK. Which everyone in the crowd so emphatically sang together with her and even moved some, including myself to tears. With how beautifully powerful and emotional it was. That was the perfect way for Jessie to close her set too and once again reaffirm why we choose her as our personal can’t miss performer for Lollapalooza this year. Jessie Reyez’s performance so great that I am sure it will be remembered as one of the festival’s best performances of the whole weekend. Plus have the festival organizers ready to bring her back to Grant Park in a few year’s as a headliner.