Concert review: Saba w/ KaiCrewSade & DJ Oreo | 06.19.25, Delmar Hall (with photo gallery)

Photo of Saba by Michael O’Connor

Delmar Hall’s stage lights coated the audience in an emotional black and white hue, creating an ambience that was felt by everyone in the hall. DJ Oreo opened the night with a flexible tone; he took an initial moment to ask the audience what they wanted to hear, then delivered with finesse. It was impressive to see how seamlessly he took audience suggestions and incorporated them into his DJ set, written in real time, and shaped by the shoutouts that were yelled from the crowd.

KaiCrewSade entered in next – his debut performance in STL – and brought a flowy presence setting up perfectly for the headline act. Growing up with Chicago roots, he drew the crowd in during his track “Chickenscratch!,” commanding the audience to move one step right, and one step left, riding with the bass beat. His sound, steeped in soulful and jazzy grit, felt full of spirit – an homage to the atmosphere he grew up in, filtered with his own fresh, genre-blending sound.

Then came Saba, and the energy in the room surged. The stage glowed in stark black and white, with portraits from his recent albums casting a quiet intensity across the backdrops. He introduced himself to the crowd with tracks from his new album, before rumbling into one of his most celebrated songs from 2021, “Ziplock.” From the first piano riff, the room erupted – the volume rising as fans matched his lyrical passion and precision. The monochrome visuals behind him stripped all distractions and drew focus to every layered word and syllable, turning the performance into a work of art and poetry.

Drawing from both his newest collection From the Private Collection of Saba and No ID (a collaboration with the “Godfather of Chicago Hip-Hop” that dropped in March of this year) and his widely-lauded 2018 album CARE FOR ME, his set oscillated between meditative and explosive. After “GREY” especially, a jaw-dropping piano and drum crescendo reframed the stage as a cathedral of sound. In the quiet that followed, Saba paused—not to rest, but to dissect, breaking down the lyrical construction of his new track “Reciprocity.” Saba’s been making music since he was 17, and this performance carried the grace of an artist who has never stopped evolving. A highlight of the performance was the light from hundreds of flashlights raised high during “Heaven All Around Me,” blanketing the room in a soft, reverent white shimmer. Saba’s poetic lyricism echoed through the room, etching itself into every corner and leaving the audience wrapped in wonder and awe. | Michael O’Connor

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