Noname is bringing her Room 25 Tour to First Avenue on Friday, January 25th and believe me when I say– you can not miss this one. Having caught Noname briefly at the Eaux Claires festival last year and with her new album Room 25 playing on repeat since it came out, this is seriously going to be a show of the year.
Noname (born Fatimah Warner) is an American artist from Chicago, Illinois, who blurs the lines of poetry and rap through the music she creates.
Noname grew up in Bronzeville, a historic neighborhood on the south side of Chicago that famously attracted accomplished black artists and intellectuals of all types. Noname first discovered her love for words while taking a creative writing class as a sophomore in high school. She became enamored with poetry and spoken word- pouring over Def Poetry Jam clips on YouTube and attending open mics around the city.
Noname regularly attended and performed at an open mic at Harold Washington Library – YouMedia’s Lyricist Loft. After sessions at YouMedia, Noname would participate in cyphers and started getting into freestyling. When she was just a senior in high school, she placed third in “Louder Than A Bomb”, a poetry competition with 120 Chicago high schools in participation. She remained connected with the artists she met at YouMedia and in 2013, her verse on Chance the Rapper’s “Lost” attracted the beginning of her large fan base, most of whom have been following her every move since.
On July 31, Noname released her debut project entitled Telefone which was 3 years in the making and highly anticipated by fans and media alike. Instantly the project gained critical acclaim with a rave review by Pitchfork and landing her praise from major outlets like Rolling Stones, Complex and Dazed & Confused. Noname has been hailed by The FADER, Complex, and Rolling Stone as one of the most exciting and important new artists of 2016.
Thanks to Telefone’s success, Noname played some shows in support of Ms. Lauryn Hill, who hand-picked Noname to open for her on tour. When first approaching the project, Noname set out to emulate the feeling of talking on the phone with someone for the first time. She describes Telefone as “an introductory conversation with someone you’re interested in.” But as Noname continued to work on the tape, it also transitioned a bit into mortality: the idea of life and death and the duality between those two things.
Chicago based Elton will be opening up the show.
With how much buzz there is around Noname right now, I’m honestly shocked there are still tickets available but there are so grab them here quick!
Remaining Tour Dates:
January 11 – Boston, MA @ Royale
January 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
January 14 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
January 17 – Orlando, FL @ The Beacham Theater
January 18 – Tampa, FL @ Ritz Ybor
January 19 – Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
January 21 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom
January 23 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
January 24 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room
January 25 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
January 26 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
February 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
March 15 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
