The sparkly glowing red letters that spelled out “FOX” lit up the sky on a cloudy night, and the Fox Pomona Theatre marquee read: “Goldenvoice Presents Beabadoobee—4/17 SOLD OUT.”

After grabbing my tickets and photo pass at the box office, I headed toward the entrance to find the line wrapped twice around the block. Luckily, a security guard was nice enough to let me skip to the front. I was there to photograph Keni Titus, one of the most promising and authentically vulnerable rising artists in indie music.

I made it inside just in time for Keni’s opening set and was surprised to see an already large crowd, despite many still outside in line. The room was filled with the sound of soft guitars, drums and Keni’s slightly raspy, passionate voice. Her music brought out a kind of emotion one may not always want to show, but somehow, I didn’t mind at that moment.

During songs like “Take It Off,” the room swayed along — even though not everyone knew the words, the energy was felt. Some fans screamed and shouted when she hit her high notes. Keni closed her 15-minute set with a fun cover of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated,” which had the crowd jumping.

While she hasn’t quite had her big breakout moment yet, songs like “take it off” and “if u want” shows she has the momentum. Outside her melodic and sometimes melancholic sound, Keni herself seems full of joy. I ran into her later in the crowd during Beabadoobee’s set as she was jumping around and singing to her co-star tracks.

The rest of the night was a complete buzz with an interesting mix of girls and guys, some looking to cry while others were ready to mosh to some UK indie rock.

Beabadoobee came out with insane energy, performing her song “California” first, fitting to the location. The crowd moshed and sang as Beabadoobee marched on throughout her set. Beabadoobee, who recently encountered some online hate about her singing, absolutely brought the house down, especially on tracks like “She Plays Bass,” proving she can perform a wide variety of genres across her discography.

The set design was also pretty cool, looking like an unfinished painter’s workshop, which miraculously, mid-set, turned into a garden wall.
Overall, it was a pretty great show with talented young artists who served as a testament to any dreamers out there – you can achieve your goals too if you put your mind to it.

Gallery • 10 Photos

Devin Huynh

Keni Titus - 4/17