It was nothing short of a Sapphic sanctuary on Sunday night at RBC Amphitheatre, with R&B superstar Kehlani taking over the stage with a decade of music, unapologetic cool girl energy, and a combination of tough and sexy choreography for the Toronto stop of The Kehlani World Tour.
From the moment Kehlani took the stage, it was clear this wasn’t just another concert in Toronto, but an event for the city’s community of women-loving-women. As an artist with a large catalogue of music focused on Lesbian relationships, it’s no surprise that Sunday night’s crowd was overwhelmingly Queer, with couples, friends and fans singing, dancing and screaming their way through a set that pulled from across the singer’s catalogue. So you know Queer & Now was at the show.
As a Queer woman of colour, it’s not lost on me that Kehlani is still a rarity as a Queer person in R&B, despite being a decade into a successful career. This uniqueness only serves to make their music and live performances all the more precious.
The Toronto show doubled as a retrospective of the artist’s career, with Kehlani reflecting on a decade of work in music with a set moving between newer material and throwback hits, giving longtime fans plenty of reasons to reminisce while introducing newer songs to the soundtrack of a career that has continually evolved.
There was a particular electricity whenever the California-born singer began one of her more popular tracks, like “After Hours”. In those moments, the Toronto crowd didn’t need much prompting, instantly transforming the amphitheatre into a giant singalong.
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But that relatability wasn’t the only thing carrying the night. The performance was anchored by sharp, high-energy choreography, with the singer and dancers commanding the stage throughout. There was an effortless cool to the production, equal parts polished pop spectacle and intimate Queer dance party.
Intimacy at The Kehlani World Tour
From the opening number, “Anotha Luva,” which saw the singer rise from a circular bed following what appears to be a messy night out, to heartfelt, sensual lyrics and sexy dancing, intimacy was a key tenet of the show. For instance, while performing “Oooh,” Kehlani got up close and personal with one of their dancers in a visual element of the performance that saw the entertainers leave the stage before being broadcast, getting hot and heavy backstage.
That intimacy continued later in the show, albeit in a different way. At one point, Kehlani paused to take a selfie with the massive Toronto crowd, sharing that she was capturing the moment with the massive crowd for her daughter. It was a small gesture, but one that brought the scale of the night into focus: tens of thousands of people gathered in one place, all there to celebrate an artist whose music has soundtracked different chapters of their lives. It’s a big deal for Sapphics, a community that doesn’t often see ourselves represented in mainstream music. There’s an intimacy in that, too.
For a performer with 10 years of material to choose from, the biggest challenge is knowing what to leave out. Kehlani largely sidestepped that problem by making the concert feel less like a greatest-hits collection and more like a journey through her career, one that has grown alongside the communities that embraced her music.
And if the night was a celebration of where Kehlani has been, the finale was a reminder of where she is now. She closed the Toronto show with “Folded,” her latest hit, sending the crowd into one final eruption before the lights came up.
For the Lesbians, Bisexuals, Pansexuals, and other Sapphics in the venue, the Toronto stop on The Kehlani World Tour was more than two hours of music. It was a reminder of just how much Queer culture and nightlife has grown around artists like Kehlani, and how rare it still feels to see a crowd this openly, joyfully queer gathered in one place. This is something the artist reflected on toward the end of the show, taking a minute to reflect on the safe space they aim to create for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities at their show.
As a Lesbian who has been enjoying Kehlani’s work for a decade, now having my own memories and experiences entangled into their discography, Sunday night’s show was special for many reasons. And the thousands of people singing, dancing, and making out along to the music were reflective of that.
