Kelela at Irving Plaza
photo by Edwina Hay

Kelela played Irving with Oyinda (pics), who opens for Shabazz Palaces soon

Kelela is playing day two (6/2) of NYC’s Governors Ball in June, but ahead of that, she played a sold-out GovBall-presented NYC show at Irving Plaza on Friday (3/2). We didn’t get the full setlist, but she mostly played songs from her proper debut album Take Me Apart, one of our favorite albums of 2017, and some highlights from her earlier EP and mixtape too. Pictures of the Irving Plaza show, including openers Tiffany Gouché and Oyinda, are in the gallery above.

In addition to GovBall, Kelela has upcoming festival appearances at SXSW, Coachella, Primavera Sound, Essence Festival, and Pitchfork.

Opener Oyinda, a Nigerian-British singer residing in Brooklyn, makes atmospheric R&B that’s not too far removed from Kelela, and this wasn’t the first time they played together. The two singers both played Dev Hynes and Ian Isiah’s Telfar show during New York Fashion Week. She’s got new music in the works, but until then, check out her recent single “Serpentine” and the Empress Of remix of her song “Never Enough” below. Oyinda next plays her current hometown on March 19 at Elsewhere opening for Shabazz Palaces (tickets).

photos by Edwina Hay