Jack Harlow and American Express team up together during Member Card Week to bring an exclusive one-night experience for cardmembers!
Music lovers of all ages in Vermont will be able to appreciate the return of the Backside 405 outdoor concert series, a collaboration between Higher Ground and Burlington City Arts.
April 3rd marked two years since R&B singer-songwriter Kiana Lede released her critically-acclaimed debut album KIKI. Despite dropping an album at the height of COVID-19, KIKI debuted at #30 on the Billboard 200 and #7 on the top R&B Album charts.
Releasing a major body of work during a fairly new global pandemic could be looked at by some as a risky move, but Kiana is fearless. Not only in her songs, but in the way she carries herself and how she speaks as well. She speaks in a way that is honest and transparent. She’s funny, quirky, a little awkward (but who isn’t?) and her confidence follows her in to every room, towering over her 5’2” frame.
Today, Kiana is still riding on the high of her first album, dropping new songs here and there and performing at festivals. Her most recent stop was in Atlanta, where we caught up with her before her performance at The Tabernacle during the Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit. Organized by R&B legend Mary J. Blige, Live Nation Urban and Pepsi, the 3-day weekend included a Friday night concert with an all women lineup.
Before she shared the stage with Rubi Rose and Omerettá the Great, singer Inayah, pop duo Emotional Oranges and MK XYZ, we caught up with Kiana to talk about her love for Atlanta, the importance of therapy and where she finds her strength from.
The Knockturnal: How’ve you been? How are you enjoying Atlanta?
Kiana: I’ve been great, thanks for asking! I love it here. I always love it here. I can’t wait to see some titties.
The Knockturnal: Is that like, a normal thing when you come here?
Kiana: Yeah, what?!
The Knockturnal: At your shows?!
Kiana: Strip clubs. I hope [that happens] at my shows!
The Knockturnal: I haven’t seen you live yet but do your shows get crazy?
Kiana: I mean, I might have to tell [my fans] to show me their titties now.
The Knockturnal: I know you’re from Arizona, does the heat in Atlanta compare to back home?
Kiana: I love the heat here cause it’s humid and I love humid! It’s good for your skin. Dry is just… ugh! It’s like your face is cracking. I love when my hair is curly from the humidity, I just like when my hair is crazy.
The Knockturnal: You recently dropped a single titled “Unpredictable” with Destin Conrad, how did you guys link up?
Kiana: I’ve known him for a really long time, since I was 16. We’ve always kept in contact and he’s a really sweet dude. I saw he was taking music seriously and how incredible he is. He’s an incredible writer and an incredible singer. I think he’s, like a really rare singer that we have right now and people are just finding out. I just wanted to support him! He sent me the song, I loved it and we just went from there.
The Knockturnal: It’s been about 2 years since your debut album KIKI dropped. Are we getting new music soon?
Kiana: You… are getting new music before the end of the year.
The Knockturnal: Is there anything else you can tell us about it? We’re in Atlanta, there’s a lot of producers here. Have you been working with anyone we may know?
Kiana: I have…
The Knockturnal: Can we get a hint?
Kiana: (Shakes head) Mm-mm. The hint is that they’re from Atlanta. You can guess but I’m not gonna tell you, though!
The Knockturnal: Switching gears to a more serious topic, you made a post on Instagram back in December about people calling you underrated and how, in spite of where people may think you should be career wise, where you are right now as an artist and a person is enough and you’ll only get better. I think that’s something a lot of people can relate to so what do you have to say to those who may feel like their progress just isn’t enough?
Kiana: It’s hard because I’m still figuring it out every single day. One of the things that makes me feel good is what my therapist told me, “you are exactly where you need to be at the time you need to be there.” Something she told me recently was, “today, you are the person that you needed when you were younger.” So you’re always growing. No matter what it is, we are always growing and getting somewhere. We may not know where that somewhere is cause we don’t know where we go after this but it never ends. We just have to enjoy every single second and realize, wherever we are, we need to be grateful.
The Knockturnal: I think that’s very interesting because I’ll always see people on social media say “my therapist said…” and I wonder do I need a new therapist? Because mine just stares at me like I’m crazy for an hour.
Kiana: They’re important, therapists are really important. I ran away from different therapists that I was talking to. I got diagnosed with Bipolar [Disorder] during COVID, almost 2 years ago. I had that diagnosis before by a couple of people and I ran away from it because I didn’t trust it. I didn’t feel safe. But, I found a black female therapist and that is where I felt the most protected and safe. I felt like she would understand some of the cultural things I’ve been talking about, you know? When it came to family and just culture in general, and my experiences as a black and mixed woman. So, I didn’t have to explain shit, she just got it and that’s what made me feel safe enough to accept the diagnosis and move forward from there.
The Knockturnal: This is the Strength of a Woman Fest so I have to ask, where do you find your strength from and what is your greatest strength?
Kiana: There are so many things I work on feeling strong in. Even my work, even writing songs. That’s where I should feel the most strong and I almost have to convince myself to feel strong in those areas. But, I think where I feel the most strong is in conversations like this. Being open enough and opening up other people that probably wouldn’t be able to talk about these topics, by opening up myself. I think that’s something really beautiful. That’s actually a strength that I have and when I feel the strongest.
04-15-2022- On April 15th Latto headlined Warsaw Concerts as the venue gave fans a chance to witness not only Latto’s energy but her opening acts as well.
The concert kicked off as Asianae- an upcoming artist based out of Atlanta, showed out with her provocative and vivid energy. From her red vibrant outfit to her seemingly effortless ability to get those in attendance at full attention. Performing her newest single “Onlyfans” it did not take long to have the crowd lively.
Following Asianae, was Kali, the Roswell Georgia native. Kali is currently on the rise as she is known for her single with Rico Nasty “Do A Bitch”- as Kali hit the stage, the crowd erupted. 
Her voice was extremely infectious and her stage presence was clear, as in the middle of performing she stopped and broke up a series of fights. Making it clear that she was not in the building to condone any sort of violence in any fashion. She quickly got the crowd back into the show as she pulled some of her fans on stage to join and dance along side her.
Shortly after Kali- Saucy Santana hit the stage, and if you did not know any better you would think that Santana was the headliner. His one of a kind delivery was immediately evident as the concert had a different energy from the minute he was in sight of the crowd.
The energy was indescribable as the attendees hung on every word- at one point the crowd was so loud that you could barely hear Santana. Performing his hit single “Walk” and engaging the crowd to the point of having a dancing contest on stage, it was clear that Santana was intent on giving his fans a memorable experience. 
So much so that when Santana got off stage fans could not wait for Latto to hit the stage. At one point chanting, “We want Latto” at her DJ as he prepped for her entrance. He teased the crowd as he played her intro twice fooling them to think she was on her way out. Though it was delayed, Latto’s performance was delivered with epic proportion as not only did she perform her hit singles off her newly released album “777” such as “Big Energy” and “Wheelie” but she treated fans as she brought out special guest J.I. The Prince of N.Y. The eruption sounded like it was from a different stratosphere as attendees were pleasantly shocked.
@theknockturnal.com SK8 Album Release Party in Los Angeles! #sk8 #theknockturnal #concert #albumrelease #albumreleaseparty #wizkhalifa #jacobsartorius #lastdayonearth #SK8 #fyp #foryou #losangeles #bts #party #takeaNAIRbreak #CatOnALeash ♬ original sound - Custom auto builds
On Thursday, April 7th, The Knockturnal had the chance to join in on the momentous moment that was the unveiling of SK8’s debut project “Last Day on Earth” live listening party in Los Angeles. Although this is his debut project, SK8 has a very impressive repertoire that includes a loyal fanbase who believe in his message of spreading love through being honest about his struggles which have gained him over 20.3M streams globally and 1.6M social reach. This project is meant to show his fans a different side from what his listeners are used to with a new seamless blend of punk/rock instrumentation while staying true to his hip-hop origins. In the short span of time since the 27-year-old moved to Los Angeles from Omaha, Nebraska and opened for highly respected rap icons like Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz and Rae Sremmurd with his gold-certified single, “Like That,” with Jack and Jack, SK8 has already shown great promise with his rapidly evolving artistry. “Last Day on Earth” marks the beginning of a new SK8 era and is a very strong representation of the rising singer’s future potential with this first body of work as an alternative/punk artist.
SK8, managed by Wiz Khalifa and Will Dzomback through Taylor Gang Management, wants to shed light on who he is and what he is becoming with this new project. SK8 says, “I wanted my debut project to blend genres and be cohesive for all artists involved. Last Day on Earth really nails that concept and grasps my personal identity.” The 9 track EP embodies this with an impressive collaboration list for the project including multiplatinum, GRAMMY-nominated rap icon Wiz Khalifa, Good Charlotte, Machine Gun Kelly drummer Rook, EDM duo DVBBS, musician and Atlantic Records label mate Sueco, Sum41, Sommer Ray, Scarlett and more. The goal of Sk8’s debut EP is to drum up themes of rebellion, broken relationships, teenage nostalgia, and the unending need to rage against systems built to curtail his personal light.
There’s no doubt about it, SK8’s energy is unmatched. While watching him on the stage in the center of the room his presence was electrifying as you could feel all eyes in the room glues to him as he performed some of his previously released tracks as well as some new ones from the EP. The pinnacle of the night was when the crowd suddenly split, allowing none other than Wiz Khalifa to join SK8 on the stage to perform their hit “Girl Next Door”. SK8 is on a mission to change the world through his music, and this incredible debut project shows that he won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
TRACKLIST
L.D.O.E.
F*CK SOCIETY (FT. SUECO)
GIRL NEXT DOOR (FT. WIZ KHALIFA & DVBBS)
HEAVEN SENT
OUTSIDE (FT. GOOD CHARLOTTE)
HEAR ME
BLUES IN THE BOTTLE
PAGES ( FT. ROOK)
SHOOTING STAR ( FT. SUM41)
[Producers of the project include Baze (Machine Gun Kelly), Colin Brittain (Sueco) Breakfast N Vegas (Rihanna), Stixx (Justin Bieber), Cypress Moreno (Shoreline Mafia, Drakeo, Blxst), Good Charlotte, Sueco, and Rook (MGK Drummer).]
IG – @realsk8
Twitter – @therealsk8
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/SK8
Press Site – http://press.atlanticrecords.com/sk8/
Cinematographer: @lokiiproblematic
Feb 26th- Irving plaza was filled with energy as a packed house welcomed Marc E. Bassy – Nothing In This World tour. Both Marc E. Bassy and and coming R&B sensation John K. The Epic Records artists did not fail to deliver.
As the show began, John K showed his crowd control as his many fans sang his songs word for word. He did not miss a beat as the audience seemed to grow as he continued to run through his catalog. 
John K’s soulful talent was evident by the end of his set. It is clear that his talent has potential to explode as his sound is extremely distinctive and has the ability to grow in a massive way.
From old songs to his newest single “A lot”- it was evident that John K has lasting power if he is given the chance to grow and shine as an artist. His versatility was on full display by his closing moments.
The energy continued to elevate as Marc E. Bassy hit the stage with a bang- showing those in attendance why he is a platinum recording artist. 
To kick off his performance- Bassy began with a guitar in his hands as he warmed up the audience with his soothing acoustic talents. However, it did not take long for Bassy to put his ambidexterity on full display. From amping the audience with his beat machine mixed with the live acoustics you almost forgot what concert you were attending- as the lights and the beats coordinating made for a colorful and engaging experience.
One thing was evident by the end of the night at Irving Plaza- If this is the start to Marc E. Bassy’s Nothing In The World Tour, fans around the country are in for a full experience.
Just releasing her newest single, “She’s All I Want To Be,” Tate McRae has been on cloud nine ever since she debuted her latest song to the world.
To keep the momentum going McRae recently partnered with SONY to provide an ultimate interactive experience to her fans called Set The Stage. This project is a new and fun way for music fans worldwide to collaboratively construct content with some of their favorite Sony Music artists. For fans to participate, they can submit their work utilizing the hashtag
‘ #SetTheStageforTate’ in order for their art to be streamed during the artists’ live performance.
“I love working with Sony,” says Tate. “They have all this new technology that’s never been done before.”
Tate also shares how excited she is to connect with her fans again after a very long pandemic.
Alongside the Canadian artist, Australian artist The Kid LAROI and “Whole Lotta Money,” rapper BIA are also a part of the campaign which started February 24th and will be running all the way through the middle of March.
Following the Set The Stage experience, McRae also recently announced her latest partnership with Maybelline. Where she and the makeup brand will be co-creating on a new line of products, which we will have to wait and find out more about.
Check out the full interview below with the Knockturnal’s correspondent Shaysayss and you can check out Tate McRae’s first SONY #SetTheStage performance here.
Monday night at Brooklyn Steel marked the halfway point for Beach Fossils’ “Out in the Way Tour,” as the band cruises through thirty-two cities this fall.
The Brooklyn-based electro-pop singer performed a setlist composed of exuberant, upbeat tracks on a sunny afternoon at Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s The Dime rooftop.
The Grammy-nominated artist performed songs from her debut album for American Express membership week and dropped new, exclusive merch.
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