Omar Apollo sold-out the venue, stole a thousand hearts, and proved without question he is a superstar in the making.
The Prototype Tour featuring headliner Omar Apollo and support act Ravyn Lenae arrived at The Ritz in Raleigh, NC. The 1,400-capacity sold-out crowd was on a hair trigger, ready to scream at the slightest change in lights or sound in excitement to see the newly Grammy-nominated Best New Artist, Omar Apollo.
Opening the evening was Ravyn Lenae. Ravyn Lenae released her debut album, HYPNOS in 2022 and is just beginning to build her career. Ravyn’s soft and sultry voice has graced many festival stages in recent years and shared the stage as an opening act for SZA and Noname. Ravyn Lenae may be relatively new but a nearly full audience greeted her excitedly and warmly. The audience clearly knew Ravyn Lenae as they sang along and showed huge love for her soaring vocal talents.
Performing a 40-minute set and dressed in a beautiful red dress bathed in soft red light, Rayvn Lenae sauntered her way around the stage with the calm and confident aura of an experienced performer. Behind her was a three-piece band that mixed jazz, soul, and R&B as the backdrop for Ravyn Lenae’s impressive multi-octave range and rich storytelling lyrics. The band’s mix was far more forceful than what’s heard on HYPNOS, in particular, the drums adding a thundering heaviness that challenged Ravyn’s cool vibe with a Prince & The New Power Generation-like backbeat. Supremely cool and terrifically talented, Ravyn Lenae delivered a wonderful opening to the evening.
Anyone who doubts if Omar Apollo is worthy of his 2022 Grammy nomination needs to experience him in concert. Regardless of your musical taste, his talent is undeniable. A quadruple threat of singer, songwriter, guitarist, and heartthrob Omar Apollo deserves all the respect and accolades likely coming his way in the years to come.The moment Omar Apollo walked onto the dark stage, The Ritz erupted into a screaming frenzy most artists can only dream about receiving. For an artist who began in 2017 and has only one full-length album released, it’s jaw-dropping to witness how revered and loved he has become to so many so quickly.
What became immediately clear is Omar Apollo does not fit the “rock star” persona. Omar Apollo performed and engaged the audience just like a high school garage band performing for their buddies. There was no pretense, no over-the-top showmanship, just genuine glee being on stage and able to do what he loves to do. It’s Omar’s approachability and openness that make him so powerful, to the point where with the mere movement of his forefinger and thumb he could silence the crowd completely (literally, not a single word) in two seconds. Omar Apollo doesn’t have fans, he has loyal followers.
Met with a sea of cell phones held by a mostly late-teen and highly diverse audience, Omar Apollo opened the evening with “Ivory” and “Killing Me.” It is no exaggeration the entire audience knew every word and even with amplification, Omar Apollo’s voice was at times inaudible over the audience singing at the top of their lungs. Omar Apollo commented several times about the incredible energy he was feeling from this Raleigh, NC audience and promised to visit again soon.
Whether in English or Spanish, Omar Apollo’s vocals were on point. Clear and smooth, sexy and sweet, Omar never struggled to hit even the highest of notes that even Mariah Carey herself would likely be impressed by. His confidence on both acoustic and electric guitar brought to life songs like the acoustic corrido “Dos Uno Nueve (2019)” and the electric ballad “Mr. Neighbor” equally well.
It isn’t every day a performer tells a sold-out venue “I gotta pee” mid-set but it’s this disarmingly honest and charming personality married with undeniable musical talent that made dreams come true for 1,400 attendees this evening.
OMAR APOLLO
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