(Photography by James Chen)
CK25 the Tour - 25 Years in the Making was a celebration of Crystal Kay’s music career, and fans here in North America have been waiting patiently for the beloved R&B artist to officially tour through this side of the globe. While Crystal has made a few one-off U.S. appearances in recent years, her fans have been eagerly wanting more and so their wishes came true with this tour celebrating the 25th debut anniversary of the adored Kuri-chan (Crystal’s nickname lovingly given by fans).
The sold-out Los Angeles stop of the tour took place on August 28 at the Miracle Theater, a historic venue dating back nearly a century and had even served the community as a church for several years.
Crystal effortlessly delivered hit after hit delighting fans with a setlist highlighting classics as well as more recent releases from the artist’s discography. Sprinkled in was a small assortment of iconic R&B tracks (including “Human Nature” and “I Get Lonely” by the Jackson siblings) where Crystal’s renditions made them her very own. The live band provided absolutely wonderful support for Kuri-chan, and created a musical experience which was slightly different from enjoying studio versions of the music. In my humble opinion, the live performance had a more funky sound (especially from the bass guitar) than the studio releases, and it was awesome to experience Crystal Kay’s hits backed by a live band.
The venue was full with energetic fans who danced and grooved with Kuri-chan through the evening, with the luckiest of fans getting a chance to share the stage with Crystal during “That Girl”.
