Review and Photos by: Story DeWeese

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Oakland, CA — September 18th, 2024 — To start off the incredible evening strong, Maisy Kay, an LA-based pop artist originally from England, floated across the stage showcasing her lovely vocals. Her purple butterfly-themed outfit and microphone décor perfectly matched the theme of the purple skies tour. The audience danced and hopped to Maisy’s upbeat performance. After Maisy’s set, Tori Kelly took the stage to a roaring crowd.

Tori previously performed at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA in 2016 for the Unbreakable Tour for her debut album Unbreakable and again in 2019 for the The Acoustic Sessions Tour for her album Inspired by True Events. This week, Tori’s show included singing amazing vocal riffs, dancing, playing guitar and so much more. Tori started off the night with her new hit “thing u do” from her self-titled album Tori. released earlier this year.

Tori invited the audience to be active participants and act as her choir for the night. Additionally, Tori took song requests from the crowd during her acoustic set. The fans screamed out their favorite Tori songs. She encouraged the audience to sing and have a good time along with her as she sang songs, both old and new. 

Throughout the night, Tori sang many songs from her self-titled album including “cut,” “oceans” and “diamonds.” While highlighting many songs from her new album, Tori couldn’t to(u)ri without sharing some of her older hits and fan favorites from Unbreakable Smile including “Should’ve Been Us,” “Nobody Love,” and “Hollow.” Fans couldn’t help but sing and clap along to “Hollow” and Tori encouraged every bit of it. She never missed an opportunity to have fun. At one point, she even acted as assistant drummer! On more than one occasion throughout the night, the entire audience was silently in awe of Tori’s angelic voice. 

As Tori introduced “same girl,” a song from her new album Tori., she shared that this had been her dream ever since she was a little girl. “Thanks for making that little girl’s dreams come true,” she said, leaving more than a few in happy tears.

The love between Tori and her fan community was beautiful to behold. Tori even created videos with the audience “for the gram.” Tori posted a video to her Instagram story after the show showcasing herself and fans celebrating the evening together. New and old fans alike were welcomed with open arms. She also mentioned AJ Rafael, an LA-based singer/songwriter who has collaborated with Tori in the past, was having a show in San Jose at the same time as her Oakland show. Both artists created a video with their fans to share the moment across the Bay together. See the compilation video of the two shows happening simultaneously on AJ’s TikTok and Instagram. Tori wrapped up the night with “missin u” from her new album. Overall, Tori’s unmatched vocals, outstanding music and inspiring words left the audience with a sense of community and belonging.