GRiZ Electrifies The Armory On The Ride Waves Tour

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Every time I step foot at The Armory, I’m reminded why this is one of my favorite venues in the Twin Cities. There’s just something charming and special about this venue that makes every show hosted there a treat, and for the first time in a little while, I was able to share the experience with a few friends by catching GRiZ live for the first time. With the crowd steadily trickling into The Armory, there was a cathartic tension slowly starting to build as opener dwilly took the stage.

I’ll be the first to admit that EDM or really any genre of electronic music is a bit of a foreign realm to me, especially live, and I definitely felt like I was in an unfamiliar place. However, the second that dwilly played a sample of A Day To Remember during his set in one of his mixes, that’s when my entire night turned around and I started to feel like I belonged here. Hailing from South Carolina, dwilly was quick to bring a mix of his original work plus a few great sampled and mixes, showing off his diversity and creativity, and for being the first of two openers, the crowd was definitely feeling his beats.


Next up was Yung Bae, taking the stage to a packed venue. By this time, it was clear the crowd was here to have a good time, dancing along to the beats and mixes of the hits Yung Bae was throwing down. Although not the most talkative performer, he is definitely skilled at letting his music speak for himself. It was during his set that the crowd brought out a few balloons that were tossed gently through the air, almost rhythmically along to the beat. Not only was the crowd feeling the set Yung Bae delivered, it was clear that he was enjoying his performance, dancing along to each song in his set.

Last but not least, GRiZ took the stage right on time at 11:10. The number of people that trickled into The Armory has doubled, the crowd glued to the stage as GRiZ first started his set solo to a steady stream of funky beats and incredible lighting. Soon joined on stage by the live band that’s out on the Ride Waves Tour, GRiZ completely blew me away with his performance. Everything from the live horns (including saxophone, trombone, and trumpet), to the giant LED screen flashing images that coincided perfectly with his songs, to the eclectic live vocals seriously captivated me beyond words. Even with never having seen GRiZ live before, and with the lack of older songs thrown in the set, that didn’t bother me because GRiZ one hundred percent brought it on every single one of his live tracks, leaving me grinning from ear to ear, completely in awe of the incredible performance I got to experience.

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