Espresso News played host to musicians Gurl Crush, Unsay and Boone’s own LAVIER on Monday as part of the Pink Divinity Tour.
For Gurl Crush, this is her first time touring. The idea for a tour was conceived when Gurl Crush (Jenna Cecilia) and Unsay (Tiffany Clark) of Baltimore conversed underneath a cherry blossom tree, Cecilia said.
“Tiffany and I were at pretty large trajectories in our lives,” Cecilia said. “I was targeting to move across the country to L.A. at this time, and we decided that this was the way to do it.”
Cecilia described her music as “tropical pop with a foundation in ambience and hip-hop.” During the performance, she sang old favorites of hers, as well as new music from the EP she released in Baltimore called “Serenity Calling…”
“When I was little, I was obsessed with singing and music in every way,” she said. “I’d spend every day singing in my room, recording the radio, making mixtapes and my own personal radio show.”
Cecilia also taught herself piano as a young child after being inspired by her older brother and his involvement in music.
“I kind of took a more practical approach toward college and didn’t reconvene with music creating until I was 21 or so,” Cecilia said. “I was hanging in a scene with a ton of dudes that were musicians and realized that I too still had an affinity for rhythm. I thought, ‘wait, this is something I can do too…’ I started self-teaching again and now I’m deep in it.”
Girl Crush and Unsay have not previously performed at Espresso News. Clark said she was happy to perform at a coffee shop and visit Boone for the first time.
“I have been half of the group Dark Sister for four years now, but I have only been working solo as Unsay and doing my own production since this March,” Clark said. “My first show was in April. This is my first, but definitely not last solo tour.”
The artists continually complimented each other, happily sharing the journey with one another.
“With each performance on this tour, I can feel us both becoming stronger within ourselves, and then see and feel our energies bouncing off each other,” Clark said. “The entire tour feels very sacred; I’m so happy to share this highly transformational journey with her.”
Story by: Molly Flinchum, Intern A&E Reporter