Review: Steve Lacy at The Anthem on Oct. 18
Compton native and singer-songwriter Steve Lacy took the stage at The Anthem on Oct. 18 as the 9th stop on his Oh yeah? tour. Lacy released his fourth studio album, Oh yeah? this past July, which reached number 19 on Billboard’s Top 100 by early August and contained 10 collaborations with famed R&B contemporary artists like SZA, Erykah Badu, Tyler, The Creator, and Cecile Believe.
Given the absence of an opener for the tour, the singer-songwriter was able to take the stage promptly at 8:00 p.m. Joined by a small but mighty ensemble consisting of a guitarist, bassist, drummer, and keyboardist, Lacy opened with the project’s hit title track, featured in the end credits of the July release Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), to a sold out show. The set was split in half, with the first part consisting entirely of songs from Oh yeah? and the second of older items from his other three albums. The entire show, however, was highlighted by Lacy’s undeniable talent for performing. At one point, the stage lights strobed a black and white during an additive seven-minute guitar solo in “doom.” This showing of Lacy’s musicality was not a one-off instance. Song by song, he alternated between him singing to playing the guitar alongside his band, showcasing his musical and vocal prowess across all fronts.
Songs shifted from an upbeat, dancing mood, like in “the feeling,” to a slower, star-projected sway, like with “nothing.” Near the closing of his Oh yeah? set, Lacy requested for the audience to put their phones down for “nice shoes / in your world,” saying that he needed to focus and the phones distracted him. This follows a long-observed pattern in Lacy concerts in which the artist loathes phones, performative fans, and rowdy teens. However, the artist has admitted to mellowing out a few months after the wild success of his Grammy-winning album Gemini Rights in 2022.
In fact, Lacy incorporated the fans into every aspect of the performance. He began the night by expressing his love for D.C., sharing that his sister had attended Howard University, making him a “Bison by affiliation.” Lacy signed fans’ vinyls and cassettes, read out the messages they held up on their phones, and even invited a fan wearing the iconic “S” white button up and black tie from his Gemini Rights promo on stage for “Helmet,” calling him “the real Steve Lacy.”
Toward the latter portion of the night, Lacy loosened up the reins on his studio-recorded songs, segueing seamlessly between multiple hit songs, from “C U girl” to “Sunshine” to “Basement Jack.” Throughout these transitions, Lacy continued his pattern of taking creative liberty with his music, performing a go-go-inspired version of “Bad Habit,” paying homage to the D.C.-born funk music subgenre. The Grammy-award winner even sang his own rendition of “The Night Has Opened My Eyes,” by the legendary English group, The Smiths. He also repeated his three opening tracks at the end of the set as an encore, a final sendoff that reminded the audience why they showed out that Sunday night, and what made the album so great.
Above all, it was beyond evident that Lacy loved what he did. Laughing about forgetting lyrics, sharing that he smoked a little too much weed while writing Apollo, and joking about the freakiness of his songs lowered a usually enforced barrier between the audience and the artist. He felt like a relatable friend that happened to be famous, not the musical legend that he has become. Lacy used the stage as his time to verbalize every intrusive thought that entered his mind, making one thing clear—the best musicians are really just eccentric weirdos.
Minhal Nazeer is a junior in the SFS studying Culture and Politics. She was very scared Steve Lacy would throw a shoe at her for not knowing every word to all of his songs.
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