Welcome to the Magical Island of St. Lucia!

Immediately prior to purchasing tickets to see the synth-pop band, St. Lucia, at the Observatory in Santa Ana, I posted my excitement on Twitter, like a regular social-media-enthusiast. As I was scrolling through the feed, mostly comments from musicians I admire, I noticed a post from Conway, a newfound favorite of mine. It mentioned that she will soon be joining St. Lucia on their "When The Night" tour and listed the Observatory. My sister and I had no idea that she would be there along with St. Lucia and we could not contain our excitement, nor could we wait another month for this magical night to befall us.
On the night of Valentine's Day, we arrived at the wonderland that is the Observatory, ready for a great night.

kassia conway.

As soon as we walked through the front double doors into the dimly lit lobby, we noticed, chillin' at the merch booth, was Conway herself!
I had discovered Conway's powerful single "Big Talk" while searching YouTube for new music one day. I fell in love with her sassy, quirky, bad-ass essence immediately. In her brilliant homemade video, she brandishes plastic swords, dons a Pokemon-esque yellow dragon hat, and smirks cheekily at the audience. Tryin' to be grown up, but we really just kids...I just couldn't wait for the world to fall in love with her like I did.

from "big talk" music video.

As Conway was taping a homemade sign expressing merchandise prices onto the display, my sister and I walked over and said hello. She peeked over her shoulder, returned the greeting and continued, "Does the sign look good here?" Her mellow, laid-back personality was unexpected as it seemed completely opposite from the independent, bold one portrayed in the "Big Talk" video. She was giddy and effervescent about her music, the tour with St. Lucia, her debut EP on a 10" vinyl, her radio appearance in Laguna Beach that morning, everything! She exclaimed how surprised she was to see how many people had shown up that night to hear her and St. Lucia. It was so refreshing to know there are artists that care so much and that will take the time for their fans. It seems that there are so many divas... She is such a dynamic, resplendent presence, and it's so easy to connect with her. Conway asked if we had seen St. Lucia before and after we said we hadn't, she told us we were in for a real treat. We were thrilled to meet such an easygoing, greatly talented, cool person and our excitement to see her perform was growing. As down-to-earth as she was offstage, she sure cranked it up onstage.
She strutted onto stage humbly but with the aura that she owned the place. "Happy Valentine's Day and all that shit," and proceeded to throw in a couple of lunges (while wearing a dress). Conway was encouraged by the crowd's whoops and hollers.
Belting out strong, powerful vocals, she danced all around stage, rattling a tambourine, throwing kicks and punches, engaging the crowd, threatening the edge of the stage, leaning into the audience. Interspersed among the power tunes, "Hustler" and, of course, "Big Talk", were softer, sweeter songs. The deep contrast between her dynamic voice and the softer instrumentals was beautiful and captivating. During "Big Talk", my sister and I jumped around like lunatics, singing at the top of our lungs, performing (with no shame whatsoever) our own interpretive dance of the song. We were absolutely having a blast and loving every minute of our time with the blended electronic, hip-hop, R&B, synth-pop artist.
"If you wanna come say hi, I'll be hangin' at the merch booth. I'll be the one sweating in blue." I was stunned. What a dazzling, incredibly talented performer. She has the ability to change the mood of the entire audience with her wide range of songs. I recently read that the Rolling Stone has listed her in their "Top 10 Greatest New Discoveries" collection and she is also currently touring with Ellie Goulding. I'm so glad the world is falling in love, too.

welcome to the beautiful island of st. lucia.

Welcome to the beautiful, magical island of St. Lucia! A neon blue gleam threw shadows onto the instruments and a synth-beat rumbled through the room, jump-starting the hearts of us all. The five members of Brooklyn-based St. Lucia entered and a huge explosion of deferential, exuberant applause flooded the room. South-African frontman, Jean-Philip Grobler, approached the microphone and smilingly bellowed, "Santa Ana!!" The crowd returned the love and the band looked at each other with huge smiles on their face, as if they were experiencing their very first show ever. They broke into their first song of the night -- "The Night Comes Again". Each of the band members danced and rocked vehemently along with the rest of us, their contagious passion infecting every soul in the room.

frontman jean-philip grobler & keyboardist patricia beranek.

During "Closer Than This", we all believed the song was specifically for us. It seemed to be esoteric and we fell for it. The band was relaying to us our closeness. All of us in that room were one. We had reached the apogee of closeness, uniting over a love of good music.
"Wait For Love", "All Eyes On You", "The Way You Remember Me", "September". The night was full of magnificent tunes with substantial beats, electric melodies and an 80's vibe.
We had truly been transported to the world of St. Lucia, a magical place full of singing and dancing, rainbows of lights, South African tablecloths and love.
Upon the last notes of the last song, "When The Night", each of the band members were jumping from the platform, playing guitar on their knees, banging their heads, having a crazy good time. And when it was over, we were returned to Orange County, left inspired by the events of the night.

relaying love to st. lucia.

This talented, electrifying band of five are extremely passionate, life-loving and purely enchanting. My sister and I left that night with the music of St. Lucia locked tight in our hearts and that's where it shall stay.







Discover Conway's music! iamconway.com   @conwaymusic. Her EP "Big Talk" is available on iTunes!

Discover St. Lucia's music! stlucianewyork.com   @stlucianewyork. Their LP "When The Night" is available on iTunes, along with a couple EPs!

Also, look for them on YouTube.

p.s. i do not own any of the pictures, i do not take any credit for any of them. thanks:)