They’re back: DMV artists return to the stage after a year of no live music
Artists return to live performance in the DMV after the pandemic.
The pandemic was the catalyst for an explosion of creativity birthed from spending months indoors for some musicians. Now, as venues around Washington, D.C. reopen for live music, local artists are excited for the opportunity to finally be back where they want to be: on stage performing and interacting with their fans
Keno The Poet captured by AJ.
They include University of the District of Columbia student Keno The Poet, who when he isn't studying, is the clever virtuoso behind rap/neo-soul jams like "3. With U," which was released on July 10, 2021. The song was a self-funded effort, like all of his music. "[The pandemic has] taught me to be more resourceful, and really network a lot more and actually, I've been putting more work in, as a result of the pandemic. Not necessarily releasing more music or more networking, working more internally," he said.
Keno was an actively gigging musician before venues around D.C.when the city shut down under the mayor's order in 2020. "Before the pandemic, I was doing a show like every weekend, or maybe like two a week or something like that. Obviously, if we can't meet in person, then we got to find other ways to really get in front of people. And it just made me ride in a different way," he said.
He used platforms like TikTok which has been one of the top social media apps allowing musicians to get their music in front of new fans. DMV-based pop-punk band 'Keep Your Secrets' social media following exploded after a cover of MGK's "Forget Me Too" went viral on the app. Some indie artists like the viral sensation Pink Pantheress, a solo act from the U.K., even got signed from their success on the platform.
"If you have a great song, a great hook, something catchy that people can latch onto that you build a buzz with through, TikTok is almost guaranteed that you're going to find some type of traction and success," Keno said. However, nothing beats a live audience. "Personally, I'm old school, I do prefer to perform in person and build a relationship with people that way."
Keno's work, he says, is best experienced in person, and even though artists like Pink Pantheress have managed to build huge followings without a single live show, there will always be room for live music. "Just yesterday, I worked at a Harry Styles concert," he recalled. "It was at the Capital One Arena in Gallery Place in D.C., and it sold out. And this man literally had hundreds of people wrapping around the whole block, waiting to come and see him. So like, by no stretch of the imagination, are live performances dead."
Live shows or not, Keno is grateful for the support he continues to receive from his fans. "I got a message the other day, and [...] it was something along the lines of, like, I just loved your message, and the amount of passion that you put into your songs, and it literally just lit a fire under me. It makes me want to do better and create more."
For more information on Keno visit: link.tr.ee/keno.thepoet
