It was a soulful night with Andra Day. Making a stop in the Mile High City on her “Cheers to the Fall Tour,” she commanded the packed house at The Bluebird Theater.
My guess is that most people—in the audience and in the world—are most familiar with her timely and triumphant song Rise Up. It’s a song that speaks to, and for, so many people struggling through tough times and need some inspiration to “rise like the day” and “rise unafraid.”
Her unique voice, substantive songs, and the experiential passion behind them separate her from many of her fellow chart-toppers. She wove the songs together with endearing storytelling from her life’s journey—colorful and candid expressions of where she’s been and where she’s going.
What Ms. Day delivers is Reality Music. It’s hard to call it by that name, because that package has been so devalued by so-called Reality TV. But just as she crooned: “This ain’t no Love & Hip Hop, this is real life.” Her music is exactly that—it’s reflective of real life.
She appears on stage like she appears on her albums and, I imagine, how she appears at the grocery store on any given Saturday morning. She strikes me as one of those people who insists on being their authentic self all day everyday—no pretense, no posturing.
Her purpose-driven mission shines through in her lyrics and her signature sound. She treated us to her hits, plus some new material, and her high-energy band helped make it a high-impact live performance.
Hope she enjoyed Denver as much as we enjoyed her.
