Sabrina Claudio puts Hollywood in its feels

Sabrina Claudio performing at the Hollywood Palladium, LA by Jonathan Nack

FEATURING SUPPORT FROM BLACK PARTY AND TRIP CARTER

It was my first time shooting at the Sunset Boulevard based Hollywood Palladium. As I walked up, I could see the line of eager fans wrapped around the block for Sabrina Claudio. She has been a prominent voice in R&B since 2017 with her break-out project Confidently Lost, which was released independently and proved not only her capabilities as an artist but her range in genre blending. It’s no wonder she has writing credits on Beyoncé’s latest record.

Trip Carter (who is Claudio's bass player from her live band), got the show started. Carter played a handful of groovy cuts from his project as he dashed around the stage, bass in hand. He thanked Claudio for allowing him to flex his own songwriting which I thought was such a beautiful sight to see: artists supporting artists. Shortly after, LA native Black Party performed cuts from his most recent release, Hummingbird which has features from Childish Gambino and Saba. He closed out his set with the song “Bloom” which was a tender moment as the crowd sang along to the infectious hook “I hope your flowers bloom”. Black Party thanked the crowd and wished for everyone to find what they are looking for in life as the stage got prepped for the headliner.

Sabrina Claudio performing at the Hollywood Palladium, LA by Jonathan Nack

Claudio arrived promptly on schedule as the lights went down; she emerged from a cloud of fog in the doorway of her angelic set. She opened with “Better Version,” which features a cinematic string arrangement that slowly moves into a drum groove that brings the track to a climax as Claudio sings “My god I miss him”. She didn’t hesitate to kick into high gear with the up-tempo hip hop-influenced cut “Belong to You.” Being my favorite song by her, I couldn’t help but sing as I took my last photos from the pit. The venue was so kind to allow me to take photos from the back after the initial songs finished, so I arrived at a great spot while passing multiple couples sharing tender moments.

LA is still in a heatwave at the moment and the venue was quite warm, but that didn’t stop fans from dancing and singing the night away. Thankfully Claudio took the time between tracks to make sure that everyone was doing well and that the staff were passing out adequate water. Towards the middle of her set, she acknowledged all of the people that have been rocking with her since day one and then rightfully so moved to play some of her older tracks from the mixtape that started it all, Confidently Lost. Throughout the night, she impressed with delicate melodies through “Unravel Me,” which ends with these incredibly angelic vocal runs that take quite the breath control to pull off. The Palladium filled with applause after the laid the show to rest with “Orion’s Belt.”

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!