Following her 2020 release of Before Love Came to Kill Us, Jessie Reyez has finally blessed us with a long-awaited national tour for her 2022 release Yessie. On October 27, Jessie performed after supporting acts Armani White and Sadboi; she came out in a haze of smoke and a swath of blue light to blow the roof off of the Masonic in San Francisco. She sang a mixture of classic fan-favorites from her previous albums and a generous selection of songs from the incredible new album Yessie.
Jessie Reyez at the Masonic
The artist opened with a mashup of “Mood,” “Shutter Island,” and “Break Me Down,” instantly winning over the crowd’s energy. Fans of all ages and demographics held up phone cameras and cheered at the top of their lungs. The Masonic was full; couples, young people, parents, and even a little girl whose mother propped her up on her shoulders were there to see the R&B star up close and personal. The masses were in love with Jessie, and on multiple occasions, people tossed bras and panties to her onstage.
From beginning to end, Jessie brought nothing but pure attitude. After her opening songs, she greeted any newcomers in the audience with “Nice to meet you, I’m Jessie f*cking Reyez.” It was clear that this album and tour were a testament to herself, complete with hard-hitting lines like “I walked out the fight with no f*cking bruises” on the song “Queen St. W,” and “if you died tomorrow, I don’t think I’d cry, I gave you one too many nights,” on the song “Mutual Friend.” Throughout Jessie’s set, the emotional depth of her music translated into performances of pure ecstasy. “Mutual Friend” was a highlight of the night, and had the audience screaming each and every word at the top of their lungs and from the bottom of their hearts. The performance could only be described as an exorcism, in which Jessie cleansed us of our emotional damage while we cried, screamed, and sang along to her heartbreaking lyrics.
Released in September of 2022, Yessie is laced with the intense emotions of healing from a fractured relationship and the simultaneous embrace of the possibility of a new love. The record sounds like a musical diary of returning confidence, informed by all the pain Jessie Reyez has endured and described in her previous albums. At her San Francisco concert, notable performances from this release included “Mutual Friend,” “Forever,” “Emotional Detachment Demo,” “Break Me Down,” and “Only One.” Each of the songs had the audience fully engaged, which even resulted in a comment from Jessie about how loud the audience was that night. Because of the crowd’s energy, Jessie slayed us with a rendition of “Sola,” which she only performs in select cities on her tour stops. The musician also deviated from her standard setlist to perform a short, surprise acapella performance of “No One’s in the Room.” Her beautiful rendition of “Sola,” a completely Spanish acoustic song, conferred a little bit of vulnerability to the setlist. The night before the concert, my roommate and I both gushed over this song. I took a video and sent it to her, and was met with a text saying “that was so beautiful i’m so jealous.”
Photo by Andrew Zendejas/The Masonic
Jessie’s pride for her Colombian heritage was extremely apparent throughout the night, and it was contagious. At one point she called out to the crowd, asking “Cuántos Latinos están aquí?” (how many latinos are in the building?), which was met with an eruption of wild cheers, including one from me. Jessie led everyone to roll their R’s together, and on “Mood,” she expressed her deep appreciation for her parents, remarking, “if my parents hit the ground, hope I’m in heaven as well.”
She also didn’t shy away from heavy topics such as gender equality and sexual violence. During “Gatekeeper,” a song about the harsh realities of being a woman in the music industry, she asked, “how many of you identify not as a victim, but as a survivor?”
It was very clear that the setlist was precisely chosen, as the artist was sure to include crowd favorites like “Imported,” “Coffin,” “Figures,” and one of my personal favorites, “Before Love Came to Kill Us.” During the encore, Jessie returned with a cover of “One Kiss” by Dua Lipa and Calvin Harris. This confused a few people initially, but then she clarified “I f*cking wrote this song!”
Jessie brought nothing but strength and pride to us in S.F. that night. Even in such a short time span and for such a large number of people, she fostered a sense of intimacy. The crowd celebrated every moment, whether she exuded vulnerability, anger, or gratefulness. Jessie Reyez is here to stay, and her emotional performance at the Masonic only proves that she’s a star on the rise. Yessie, and all of Jessie Reyez’s previous projects are available on all streaming platforms. Go check them out!
Article by Sasha Padilla & Andrew Zendejas
Photos by Andrew Zendejas