Photo Credit: Allen Halas
There’s a certain point in a young artist’s career where you can see them truly take in the reception they receive for their hard work. Up-and-coming pop/hip hop hybrid Tai Verdes is riding that high right now, and he brought a wave of unrelenting positive energy to the Generac Power Stage at Summerfest on Thursday.
Before Verdes took the stage, DJ Kenny Perez of 88Nine Radio Milwaukee already had the young crowd at the Generac Power Stage up and moving, dancing on the bleachers before their featured act emerged from the back. Verdes’ live band took over the introductions, and before he emerged at a creep to the microphone, almost trying to hide his tall frame and bright blue sky hoodie. It took a couple of songs for Verdes to get himself totally comfortable, or at least he played it that way. However, once he sang the first bars of set-opening “Happy Til It Hurts,” Milwaukee was ready to sing along at full voice.
Once Verdes got warmed up, he instantly became a showman, soaking in the warmth of the crowd at every opportunity. In support of his debut album, TV, his time slot allowed for much of the record to be performed, with the fans knowing every word. Verdes would ditch the hoodie, and then proceed to utilize as much of the space as possible, running from one side of the stage area to the other, and even tiptoeing past the sound engineer’s tent to get as close to the crowd as he could. Before the set was over, Verdes was immersed in the Generac Power Stage crowd, running down the center divider and finding a couple of occasions to hop off stage and into the front row area.
Photo Credit: Allen Halas
Considering he had a limited range of material to work from, Verdes made the absolute most of his album cuts, which was fine by a crowd that seemed like dedicated fans. At one point, he acknowledged that Milwaukee had done their homework by listening to the record, as cuts like “Momma Told Me Imma Be” and “I Deserve 2 B Alone” got the singalong treatment. There was one lone outlier from the TV tracks, a cover of Weezer’s “Beverly Hills” that Verdes explained he memorized on his iPod Shuffle as a kid. While certainly not the deepest throwback, the audience embraced the nostalgia of it all. The set was closed out by his biggest singles, “Drugs” and “A-OK,” the former of which triggered puffs of smoke almost on cue from throughout the crowd. It would be safe to assume the song plays well at festivals.
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Throughout the set on Thursday, Tai Verdes had a charismatic grin that felt very genuine. It very much felt like an artist coming into their own, and likely the sign of only good things to come.
