Columbian Queen Kali Uchis Reigns Over Austin with Sold Out Show at Stubbs

The backlit silhouette of Kali Uchis makes the crowd go wild before she even sings a word during her Thursday night headlining show at Stubbs in downtown Austin. The twenty-four-year-old Columbian-American queen sported an all denim outfit and luscious hair that swung below her knees. The set included fan favorites, as she fielded Twitter requests like Tyrant, Your Teeth in My Neck, and Miami.

Photo x Anne-Marie Halovanic

The crowd was full of day-ones, excited to see her live after Uchis’ tour opening for Lana del Rey skipped over Austin a few years back. Stubbs’ echoed with the crowd singing her lyrics, and the audience impressively filled in for Tyler the Creator’s verse on After the Storm.

 The most important part of the show was Uchis taking the time to explain her lyrics to the crowd. Though her two saddest songs were sung in Spanish, her explanation for fan-favorites stood out as the most insightful moments of the night. Before Killer began she explained:

“I was in a relationship from ages 15-19, and basically it was one of those things that I feel like kept me out of trouble, but at the same time I would never really suggest it to anybody because I feel like you have so much growth you need to do. Realistically that’s just really hard to do when you’re with another person because they have their own insecurities and issues and you can't constantly be in tune with someone else when you have to nourish the person that you are. It’s different when you’re both ready and both have it together, then you can really love and support each other the way you should, but anyway, I guess it might be awkward if you’re here with your boyfriend or girlfriend, but it had to be said. Anyways I wrote this when I got out of that relationship. I felt like I was so used to reciprocating that energy that I became obsessed with the fact that it was over, and I thought my life was contingent on that person.”

Photo x Anne-Marie Halovanic

Uchi’s music plays like a mix of her Colombian heritage and a new-style American R&B. With lyrics that reflect on her tumultuous teenage years through a lense of retrospective wisdom, she resonates deeply with her audience of millennials in their early twenties struggling with life’s many challenges. She still knows that sometimes, we all just need to dance.