May 24th, Exit/In kicked off the night to the delightful melodies of Joe Daccache and his harmonious back up singers. The crowd watched in fun loving awe as Joe proceeded to sing with pain staking ferocity as if he had a settle to score with an ex. Albeit, Joe’s demeanor began with a solemn and timid undertones as he glued himself to mic stand, it was a treat to see him gain momentum and take complete control of the crowd.
The energy transitioned perfectly as Joe baton passed his set over to Kat Saul, the unapologetic Nashville pop underdog. It was astonishing to watch the crowd’s head follow her around stage with an un-breaking gaze. Perhaps it was her contagious music that crept up on you when you let your guard down or maybe it was her relentless enthusiasm as she bounced around from every corner of the stage singing her heart out. Either way, her cover of Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold” described her entire performance perfectly. Her interpretation is much more grand and slower singing with conviction and nostalgia. Although this nostalgia in particular is the sadder kind. The kind where you wonder where your childhood best friend is at in their life and if they ever think of you. I’m not crying you are.
Following Kat’s stellar performance was the up and coming Cam Meekins. With a cutting edge flow, he stormed the stage prepared to share his stories. The crowd rocked with Meekins whether he was performing one of his classic, caring bops such as “Better Days” or pushing newer material such as tracks from the series “The Life of Cam Meekins”.
To solidify a night of awesome music, Dnny and his band took the stage with several surprises for the audience in store. The performance was the perfect medley of new hip hop and early 2000’s pop-punk, making it a unique ode for nostalgia; even featuring a guest appearance, straight from a throwback, Travie McCoy himself – the world renown Gym Class Hero. Joining him on stage, Cam Meekins returns for, not only, a live basketball match against Dnny but to perform their new single “alley oop” for the first time together live as it had just been released earlier that week. Not only did Dnny’s music and performance make the audience move, but really took the vibe up a notch by turning Exit/In into a true party. From start to finish, Dnny + crew were ready to bring the crowd along for their ride.
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Coverage by Jacky Dang and Alexandra Cole
