When I look back on all of the bold, talented women I’ve been lucky enough to see live, one with some of the most relatable music, who I currently believe best encapsulates the insecurities, uncertainty, and messy relationships that your twenties entail, is SZA, an incredibly talented songwriter and contemporary R&B singer who I got to see preform last October.
I’ve been listening to SZA for a few years now and while all of her songs are incredible, it’s her sophomore album, CTRL, that I identify most with. In CTRL, SZA discusses everything from the feeling of women comparing themselves to other women, the insecurities that derive from bad experiences with men and with love, struggling to find self-love, and not having the slightest idea on the direction in which your life is going. In a sense, the album explores the feeling of not having control over one’s own life, something I believe every twenty-something year old has felt before.
When this album came out, SZA already had a very loyal, but humbling fan base. However, by the time her tour was announced, people were obsessed with her and with her music. Even Beyonce was a fan. The Austin tour stop sold out within thirty minutes. So immense was the demand to her shows, that I actually drove one hour south, to San Antonio, to see her preform and paid double the original ticket price off some third party website.
Needless to say, she was amazing. Even though SZA sings heavily about her insecurities, she preforms with endless confidence, making the stage all her own. As it turns out, her last tour drew such small crowds that her label didn’t want to spring for another large venue. During her set, she described that the first time she came to San Antonio. There were no more than twenty people in the crowd to watch her preform. Even if it was lack in confidence in the turnout that brought her to such a small venue, I felt really lucky because the performance felt extremely intimate and every single person in the room knew all the words to every song. It was a very special moment for me, knowing that today, SZA is selling out arenas, and seeing her preform live, in such private way, is something I’ll probably never experience again.
If you haven’t heard her music, I’ve provided a youtube link to her song, “20 Something,” which is the closing track off of her album CTRL, at the top of this blog post. I also shared a short clip of her performance below, shot by yours truly!
Capital City Concerts 