At the conclusion of Rico Nasty’s Block Party set, exhaustion finally set in from the Mayfest festivities. Complaints could be heard all around the restless crowd in the Carrier Dome of tired feet, dehydration and impatience.

But all complaints were hushed when the stage went dark as Khalid sauntered onstage to open with his hit track, “American Teen.” The artist was welcomed with uproarious cheers as the crowd swelled closer to him.

During Khalid’s almost hour-long set, the five-time Grammy nominated artist performed six songs from his debut album including “Young Dumb & Broke” and “American Teen.” One fan wearing a Khalid sweatshirt was visibly crying while singing every word.

“I want to hear all of old his bangers like ‘Young Dumb & Broke’ because I’m young, dumb and broke,” freshman Neha Penmetsa said.

After he concluded his song “Twenty One,” he addressed the audience.

“What’s up guys. How you doing,” he said. “This next song is kind of sad, but it’s really helped me get through a lot.”

The cheering diminished, only to be replaced by Khalid’s emotional rendition of “Saved” followed by “Coaster,” another anticipated fan favorite.

Khalid’s set showed off his versatility. Some songs felt like classic R&B ballads while others were energetic pop hits, a testament to his exploration into new genres.

In addition to the 21-year-old’s smooth vocals, the performance was complete with dancers — all wearing Syracuse University apparel — a full band and visuals projected on the screen.

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Prior to Khalid’s stage takeover, Rico Nasty and Kenny Beats were commanding the Dome during their opening sets. Kenny Beats opened the show at 7:20 p.m. with a set that brought a nostalgic tone to the stage, rebounding concertgoers from Mayfest.

“Where my 2000s babies at,” he said.

Beats dipped into the 90s and 2000s with mixes of songs like Dr. Dre’s “Smoke Weed Everyday” and Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles.” He also included Lil Nas X’s recent hit, “Old Town Road.”

With a peace sign and a smile, Beats ran off although it was not the last time he would grace the stage. Having been successfully hyped up, the crowd was waiting for the main acts of the night.

Next was Rico Nasty, who sprinted on stage firing verses to an arena lit up by thousands of phone flashlights. The audience screamed when the beginning of “Tia Tamera,” a collaboration song with Doja Cat, played.

Near the end of her performance, the speakers cut out, leaving Nasty visibly confused.

“This is really awkward,” she said, sitting on a surface below the DJ decks.

Nasty took time to interact with the audience, giving shoutouts to New York City and casually asking about the audience’s day.

With the speakers restored, Rico finished her set — but not before Khalid slyly sneaked on stage with Beats to finish out the set with her. Rico walked off the stage with a significantly louder applause than her entrance.

“Thank you guys, but I just want to see Khalid,” Rico Nasty said.

Khalid moved through tracks from his newly released album “Free Spirit” and his 2018 EP “Suncity.” There was no lull in both the energy on stage and in the audience throughout his concert. Khalid treated it like his recent Coachella performance, which was evident when the audience belted out his hit-single “Talk” with him.

Four songs later, Khalid took the audience back to his SoundCloud beginnings, with a song he initially only intended to be for his prom date — “Location.” Fans couldn’t help but sing along and “ride the vibrations” of his debut single.

After a quick sip of water, a noticeably sweaty Khalid said, “I got a couple more songs. Is that okay?” With audience approval in the form of shrieks, Khalid’s tail end of the concert consisted of “Right Back,” “Better” and “Saturday Nights.”

With a simple salute, he jogged off the stage. Khalid’s whirlwind performance concluded, leaving a stunned audience satisfied with the end to Block Party.

Published on April 27, 2019 at 4:36 pm