Contemporary Christian singer-songwriter and two-time Grammy Award winner Lauren Daigle brought her Kaleidoscope tour to Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Saturday (April 6), as Lafayette, Louisiana-born Daigle ushered in a series of sounds, a tight horn section, great back-up singers, a full band and a lively, happy production for the nearly two-hour show.
Daigle, who has scored six top-fives Advertising sign's Hot Christian Songs chart, has long approached her music with a sensible, free-flowing, genre-less mentality that places melodies and lyrics leaning across a vast spectrum of sounds, each a capable vessel of hope, healing and flourishing. As she has garnered success in both contemporary Christian music and pop music (notably her 2018 album Look for the childwhich debuted at No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200, while her song “You Say” reached the top 30 on the all-genre Hot 100), Daigle took the natural step to headline — and with he did so by constructing a show full of colors, sights and sounds meant to capture and hold the audience's attention from the opening, uptempo moments of “These Are the Days”.
Playing uptempo anthems like “Look Up Child” as well as ballads like “Valuable” was Daigle's soaring vocals, which have often drawn comparisons to both Adele and Joss Stone, as well as her happy, laid-back her performance style as well as Her crew of musicians danced and squeezed around the main stage and catwalk that spans the middle of the Bridgestone Arena. The full band stood on a raised platform, placing them visually in the center of the massive video wall that flashed an array of colors and images throughout the evening, while Daigle and her crew of singers/musicians/dancers took center stage. scene.
“This song is my favorite,” was a refrain that was regularly heard from Daigle throughout the set, as she punctuated the evening with stories behind some of her songs. Her fourth, self-titled studio album — released last year via Atlantic Records/Centricity Music — saw Daigle further embrace mainstream pop, welcoming artists such as Gary Clark Jr. and Jon Batiste, as well as songwriting prowess from songwriters like Shane McAnally and Natalie Hemby. .
As a companion to her song 'Kaleidoscope Jesus', she spoke of the soul-binding power of touring and live concerts, comparing each concert to looking through a kaleidoscope and knowing that each turn of the instrument brings a new collage of shapes and colors unique until that moment.
She noted that the song recalls a memory of playing with kaleidoscopes at her aunt's house as a child.
“When you look inside a kaleidoscope and hold it up to the light, there are different shapes and colors, some have rough edges and some have smooth edges,” Daigle told the crowd at one point. “Then you put them in the light and they make this beautiful image… you bring all your different stories to this show. some of you are struggling, some of you are having the time of your life, but we bring these stories to God and bring them out into the light and ask, “God what are you going to do through all of this?” and it becomes a beautiful moment.”
Opening the show was Nigerian-born singer-songwriter Blessing Offor, known for his 2023 hit “Brighter Days” and his feature on TobyMac's “The Goodness.” “This show means the world to me because this is my hometown,” Offor told the crowd.
Seated at a keyboard at the front of the main stage, he offered a sterling display of his soulful, octave-jumping tenor vocals. He sang songs meant to uplift his fellow musicians, especially those struggling in the early days of their careers on “Don't We All”. He sang “Believe” and Tin Roof, which Offor wrote with songwriter Natalie Hemby. CCM frontman Chris Tomlin later recorded the song with Offor and included it on his country-backing album. Chris Tomlin & Friends. He followed with “My Tribe,” the title track from his 2023 album, and finished with his breakthrough song “Brighter Days,” which drew the crowd to appropriately light up three arenas with a sea of cell phone lights.
Below, we present five highlights from Daigle's set:
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“Rescue”
Daigle's soulful vocals have helped her rise to one of CCM's most recognizable singers, coupled with her often soaring ballads. At Bridgestone, those ballads brought many of the night's most memorable moments, including “Rescue,” which inspired a series of cell phone lights to appear in the arena.
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Daigle's Band of Music Makers
While Daigle was the undisputed star of the evening, her musicians – including a full band, a horn section and three singers – brought just as much energy and dazzling musicianship to the night. Daigle's band members, like Daigle herself, donned outfits in an array of bright pinks, greens and yellows, and often traveled with Daigle on stage, punctuating the show with glorious harmonies and dancing, further fueling the evening's highs. octane.
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Crowd login
Overall, Daigle's joy in his performance came across as free-flowing and immeasurable. Instead, Daigle spoke to the audience of thousands as if they were close friends gathered in a living room. She spoke of her admiration for teachers, noting that many in her family are teachers.
“People often ask me what I'd be doing if I wasn't doing music, and I always say I'd be a teacher,” Daigle said. “Teachers have one of the best jobs and they change lives.”
She also spoke candidly about her struggles with a panic attack that led to writing new music, and fondly recalled her childhood, her “Cajun Swamp” Louisiana roots, and staying connected to her family in Louisiana. He later took a moment to interact with a young girl in the crowd as Daigle knelt at the edge of the stage and spoke words of affirmation to the young girl.
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A moment full of worship
While many of Daigle's songs offer lyricism in a way that often translates to both religious and secular audiences, her uptempo set at Bridgestone gave way to a worship-filled moment as Daigle and her band members sat on the circular-shaped edge of the catwalk stage, Bluebird Cafe style. The set devolved into a cover of Chris Tomlin's hit “Good, Good Father,” as Daigle and her bandmates led the audience through an extended moment of heavenly goal singing.
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Daigle approaches
For most of the concert, Daigle walked across the arena's main stage and onto the catwalk that spanned the middle of the audience. But as the concert drew to a close, Daigle surprised the crowd in the back of the arena by pulling off a move often seen in country and pop circles, performing her breakout hit, the 17-week Billboard Christian Airplay hit “You Say” in a satellite stage at the opposite end of the arena. From there, she made her way through the crowd, shaking hands and taking photos with audience members as she made the journey back to the catwalk stage.
The crowd's reaction was a testament to the power that binds Daigle's soul as one of Contemporary Christian Music's most compelling entertainers.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/lists/lauren-daigle-kaleidoscope-tour-nashville-concert-review/
