On December 12 Dev Hynes’ Blood Orange headlined a special performance at The Apollo Theater as a benefit for the Opus 118 Harlem School of Music. The evening was set to feature his music along with many appearances from special guests. So he billed the show as Blood Orange and Friends, and the show sold out instantly. So fast that a second matinee show was added at 3pm. It was the matinee show that I caught, and as far as matinee performances goes, it was one of the liveliest ones that you’ll ever see.
The show kicked off with brief but fruitful opening performances from New York artists Junglepussy and Ratking. From there it was time for Hynes to shine, but the afternoon was made for collaboration. His set featured not only his songs, but guest appearance and duets from stars such as Nelly Furtado and Solange Knowles. Together with Furtado they performed her hit “Say It Right,” along with a new song of theirs called “Hadron Collider,” that they sold as limited cassette tapes, only available during both shows.
It was a truly a celebration of music not just for Hynes and his friends, but for everyone in the audience, and all for a great cause.
Find some shots of all the performances posted below.
Junglepussy:
Ratking:
Blood Orange and Friends:
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