Videos courtesy of Mateo Braxton
Grouptherapy. brought out the city of LA as they rocked the doors of The Moroccan lounge venue at their very first THRPYFEST on July 22. As the headlining act to their sold out show they were assisted by an amazing lineup of artists such as Ovrcast. and Kaedi Dalley from the talented female group Citizen Queen, along with a DJ set from Domino Williams.
“We’re hoping to turn THRPYFEST into a yearly celebration of creativity and positivity. A safe space to let your hair down and have a good time. We’ve always been passionate about championing the up-and-coming artists we’re surrounded by so it’s only right that the first one is in our home town.”
– Grouptherapy.
Kaedi was the perfect opener, she was able to warm up the crowd with her soothing vocals. As the bass singer for Citizen Queen she is able to sing lower than most females and with that ability the crowd was mesmerized by her voice – adding an extra feel to the entire show the was carried throughout the night.
Followed up by the introspective lyricist Ovrcast. he took it up a notch as he prepared the crowd for what was to come next. Encompassing the art of storytelling with added emotions, it was very reminiscent of the North Carolina rapper Mavi. His wordplay really grabbed the crowd as they gravitated closer to the stage.
Now, the moment everyone was awaiting – the finale to the show was met with a packed out building as the clock comes closer to 7:30 p.m. grouptherapy. wastes no time taking to the stage where they thanked the opening acts and showed appreciation to everyone that came out to support.
Coming off the release of their debut album I Was Mature For My Age, But I Was Still a Child on June 27, the group blessed the crowd by performing the project in its entirety from top to bottom. Totaling in 16 tracks, the group kicks off the show with the second song from the project “American Psycho” as the first song “track 1” is a sample taken from Norman Feels “They Said It Couldn’t Be Done.” SWIM starts with the first verse building up the anticipation for the chorus with a call and response interaction with the crowd. When the hook comes in with Jadagrace taking the lead on the vocals the venue explodes with enjoyment. TJ takes the final verse on the song with his soft-spoken voice as his energy grows throughout the verse until he has full control of the crowd before Jada ends with a solo outro.
The show really starts to pick up energy on the record “Ligthspeed ~>” where SWIM and Jada open the song together and set the tone for the rest of the night. The production on this song was bleeding through the walls and it was at the moment when TJ counted down the lyrics “Five, four, three, two, one” when the entire crowd was in sync jumping up and down.
Everything took a took a turn for the better when SWIM and TJ joined the audience for a moshpit on the record “Hot!” taking the energy to an entirely new level.
The “Peak” of the night was when Jada gracefully sings on the New Jersey-style club anthem and transformed what was at lit show into a dance party, but the highlight of the night was on the final track “still alive” where you could feel the energy in the room getting more personable for everyone in attendance. This track was the one that stood out the most being the most vulnerable speaking on the topic of still being alive and getting by through the midst of adversity. Grouptherapy. closed out the show with a hug in appreciation for one another where they have come from childhood friends to superstars in the making – further proving the albums title name I Was Mature For My Age, But I Was Still a Child.
The first of many, THRPYFEST was a huge success and if you missed the first be on the lookout for the next as they are in hopes to bringing it back year after year and if you haven’t checked out their debut album it should be the next to add in your daily rotation.
Listen to I Was Mature For My Age, But I Was Still a Child!
