The show opened with Hannah Jadagu, a Brooklyn-based pop singer. The audience immediately latched on to her energy and engaged in her songs. She taught the lyrics to her song “All My Time Is Wasted,” encouraging everyone to sing along, even those who were unfamiliar with her music at the start of the night.
Del Water Gap, whose real name is S. Holden Jaffe and who is also based in Brooklyn, started his set with “Small Town Joan of Arc” from his newly released album ‘Chasing the Chimera.’
The lights started low as he stepped onto the stage in a long coat, gliding across it as he greeted the audience. Fans jumped towards the barricade as he walked by, visibly excited for what was to come.
Del Water Gap has been changing parts of the setlist throughout the tour, and for this show, he added the song “To Philly.”
Before performing the song, he explained how the song is about an old pen pal. With that context, the song appeared to resonate more deeply, as its meaning registered across the crowd.
He also told the crowd how Philadelphia has always been good to him and really embraced his music early on. “This place, in a period of time when I needed some spiritual help, became a second home for me.”
The energy in the venue shifted as friends held each other and strangers exchanged smiles because everyone there had one thing in common: a love for an artist who somehow found his way into their life.
