The Soulcialista

::RECAP:: Sweetlife Festival
Post and photo by Leo Wilson

The Sweetlife Festival is the Mid-Atlantic signal that Spring is in full effect and that festival season is here! Every year the line up is diverse and amazing in addition to the variety of healthy food and conscious vendors that are offered to attendees.

The first act that I was able to capture was Solange. She went on earlier than I expected, but that was definitely not a bad thing. Her performance began at 2:30pm, but occupying the lawn in front of her was a nicely sized assemblage of spectators. Solange rocked the house, releasing awesome vocals, enticing listeners into the language of her music. By mid performance, her attentive audience was swaying side to side, in unison with the beat.

In addition to Solange, I was able to catch the performance of a band that I had unfortunately not been previously acquainted with. Yeah Yeah Yeah, proved to be a devastating power-force. Invigorating the stage with commanding lyrics, dynamite infused energy levels, and popping color blasted attire. I was more than sysed to see this ban rock out......

Other performers at this years fest were Kendrick Lamar and Phoenix. Unfortunately for me, I missed Phoenix’s performance, ending the show. However, I did get an opportunity to meet them on the Gibson Guitar tour bus. They seemed to be some very cool European rock stars. As for Kendrick Lamar’s performance, he blew the roof off it’s hinges. The crowd frenzied at the arrival of Kendrick upon the stage. There seemed to be a sea of people, never-ending, crowded inside. Yelling and screaming from his audience seemed to jump start and follow his performance in entirety. Lets just say, it was worth partying throughout the day to make it to that point.

Special thank you to Laura at Gibson Guitars!

To see more photos from the Sweetlife Festival click HERE

::RECAP:: DC LOVE FESTIVAL
Post and photos by Daniel Harris

It was all love in the nation’s capital as the Washington Convention Center played host to the first annual DC Love Festival this past Saturday evening.

This inaugural celebration brought together DC area vendors, photographers and of course artists and Djs with the hopes of highlighting the best of Washington’s arts community. For many of the area’s up and coming artists, DC Love Fest proved to be the best way to showcase their talents.

“I love performing for my people!” says Del Travar, an up and coming R&B artists from Richmond, VA. “To be on the ticket with the likes of Raheem Devaughn and Marsha Ambrosius is a blessing” the singer/songwriter continued.

The energy was electric as DC Love Fest got underway with DJ Phaze setting the tone for the evening’s performances. For Washington native John Michael, performing in front of family members and people he grew up with proved to be a great experience.

Michael, who’s single “Sophisticated Lady” hit number 2 on the Billboard’s “Bubbling Under R&B/Hip Hop” chart this past September, says, “It feels good to be here…to be here, performing on the big stage, it feels great.” The Northeast DC born R&B artist goes on to say “I feel like I’m representing for people that are still making good music and there’s a lot of people here at DC Love Festival that are still doing real music.”

There was an amazing show of support by those in attendance for local R&B artists like Kyonte and Lysette Titi, proving that good music still matters on every level of the business. The ballroom floor of the Washington Convention Center literally moved as Black Alley gave the crowd an exciting and eclectic blend of R&B, funk, rock and soul.

As the evening continued, the always soulful, Marsha Ambrosius took the stage and delivered an incredible performance. With so many of today’s R&B artists focused on charts and numbers, Marsha took her attentive audience back to an era when singer/songwriters drew from their own experiences to create beautiful pieces of work. She even exclaims at one point, “I live these songs!”

As the night came to a close and the energy still at a high level, it was hard to see how anyone could take this crowd any higher. Then, DC’s own, Raheem Devaughn took the stage.

With hits under his belt like “You”, “Bulletproof” and “I Don’t Care”, Devaughn has enjoyed national and international acclaim. The love shown to Devaughn by his hometown audience during his performance really shows that there is truly no place like home.

DC Love Fest showcased just a fraction of the great local talent in Washington, DC’s backyard. This festival did a great job of demonstrating the importance of supporting local, up and coming talent.

Special thanks to Tone Walters for always supporting Gypsy Soul and providing us access.