Indigo Child: My Raury Crazy Experience at The Roots Picnic

Hello again World Wide Web!

I like to tell myself I have millions of avid blog followers; however, the only person who reads my posts are my boyfriend - who reads them only due to pressure from me.  (Hi bae!)

Yesterday, I attended a one day music festival in Philadelphia called The Roots Picnic.  Run by the famous Philly band The Roots, each year they handpick up-and-coming artists to perform live at Festival Pier, on the river.  

Here was this year's lineup: 

From the Roots Picnic official website

With big hip-hop names like The Weeknd and A$AP Rocky, I was expecting to be blown away by some of the larger, more popular sets later in the day.  However, I found myself being most impressed by two underdogs: Bishop Nehru and Raury.  This is mainly a post about Raury, but I have to say, for as young as Bishop Nehru clearly was, he had the whole crowd dancing and getting into his set.  He had a great stage presence for a beginner and could definitely rap.

My boyfriend loves Raury and reminded me three times on the way to the show that there was no way we could miss his 3:45 set.  I knew only one song, "God's Whispers", so I didn't really know what to expect.  Since he was playing at a smaller side stage, we got there a little early in order to get good seats, and ended up being up against the barricade in the front row.

Raury at the Roots Picnic | pc: me

In short, Raury killed it.  Even though he was having sound difficulties as the band was clearly turned up much higher than the vocals, he put on an amazing show even with a short set time.  His sound was unlike any I had heard before; his signature style of a combination of rock, folk, and hip-hop blended together seamlessly.  The supporting band and singers were also incredibly talented, but Raury's stage presence, signature hat, and wild dance moves stole the show.

Guess what readers?  (Yes, all you readers reading this right now!  All one million three hundred thousand two hundred and one of you!  I know I have a large following on this rinky-dink blog so listen up!)  You can download Raury's album Indigo Child online for free by going here.  Connect, play the game, and then click download.  You can also watch his documentary that explains what he means when he says 'indigo'.  If you are new to his music, check out "God's Whispers" and "Cigarette Song" - basic fundamentals for budding fans.

I'm really grateful I had the chance to see Raury live in concert not only because I've really loved being introduced to his fantastic music, but also because I love what he stands for.  His message is mobilization of the youth to do what they want to do now.  At 18 years old, he has successfully fulfilled his dream of entering the music scene, playing several large festivals including Firefly this June.  Just as he followed his dream with reckless abandon and no backup plan, he believes that if more youth were like that, there could be a real revolution within cities and towns that could eventually transform the nation.  For an 18 year old, his passion, talent, and incredible worldview are a testament to his exemplary character and determination.  I can't wait to see what Raury does next.

We are the truth.  We are forever.  We are the youth. We are together.