“There’s a lot of children here!” a woman shouted to her boyfriend, echoing my thoughts, as Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8r Boy” played loudly over the speakers and guests patiently, or not, waited for the second artist to start. Some of the aforementioned children zoomed around, past their normal bedtimes.
The youngins of Oakland were out Monday night, and Oakland’s Fox Theater’s carpeted floors were their stage. They were here to see JVKE, an overnight TikTok star who blew up in fall of last year, as well as three other up-and-coming young acts: Maisy Kay, a singer-songwriter from England; HARIZ, a poppy Los Angeles-based 25-year-old, and Skye Christy, also Gen Z Angelenos.
The fans and artists had made their initial connection through their phones. Now they were now seeking to deepen it IRL. They had moved from bedrooms to the great out, or rather in, doors. The connections occurred Monday night through the music, of course, but not just through the music.
Built in 1928 as a movie theater and renovated in 2009 for events, the Fox theater is grand and beautiful, its high ceilings and sweeping architecture dwarfing even tall adults, and creating visual chaos when filled with so many small, moving creatures.
In truth the crowd lined up out front was quite a mix of ages, but the demographic was clear: Headliner JVKE and openers Maisy Day, Hariz, and Syke Christy are beloved by many fans not yet old enough to vote. And they seem to love them back.
The three opening acts Monday night brimmed with the same youthful hope and energy as so many of their fans. If I hadn’t felt my age upon arrival, the stretching I began three songs in to the very first of the acts surely sealed the deal.
“I can’t believe you took me here! Thanks mom!” came a voice from the stall next to mine before we’d even entered the theater proper, two sets of shoes standing close.
As Hariz drew to the end of a slightly nasal but heartfelt pop second set featuring call-and-response reminiscent of early Bieber with a cover of a small artist “people may not know” (Harry Styles), he expressed his gratitude to the crowd. “Also, I want to meet each and every one of you … You’re the reason I’m here. I’ll be in the back by merch.”
He then introduced an unreleased song. “Oh, please don’t point your phone at me,” he responded to a nearby fan. He wanted one-on-ones, not stage shots.
I had perched in the back of the hall, leaning against a closed bar for support. A bright light to my right side was revealed to be several of Maisy Kay’s team holding their phones high to provide proper lighting for photos with fans, some of them barely reaching her waist.
A man wearing a “Daddin’ Ain’t Easy” T‑shirt held his daughter’s hand in one hand and a beer in the other, gently guiding the shy kid to meet a hero. Maisy’ s love of the moment was palpable, one woman calling her a “beautiful mermaid,” the singer melting into her people, gushing.
Maisy’s set had been sparing, with just her, an LED mic stand topped with a bedazzled butterfly-encrusted microphone center stage, and an electric keyboard off to the side. The mic stand immediately brought to mind TikToking teens, and well, it wasn’t the wrong idea, as both JVKE, a 22 year-old from Rhode Island, and Skye Christy, a pair of sisters from LA, were both brought to the public eye, and now the Fox, through the app.
Maisy’s set — featuring sweet, high femme electro-pop with too much autotune and bass for my taste at the start — turned to more intimate material (first heartbreak) and deliverance when she moved to the keyboard to debut a song. It veered left again for a rendition of Kate Bush’s “Running up the Hill.” Her dance moves lacked the range of her musical inspirations and performance, but her presence was magnetic to her fans both on and off stage.
The crowd, myself as much as the kids, was more than antsy by the time the third opener, Skye Christy, wrapped up. They too played a new song for the crowd, “Lady of Leisure.” “Well, you’ll let us know how you feel about it,” they said before launching into more layered harmonies. The set progressed from a folkie/bluegrass vibe to sadder, gently haunting songs like “I’m Not Like Alice,” the one that brought them to TikTok fame, and reminded me a bit of Billie Eilish, another artist whose work I enjoy but also makes me feel old.
I loved watching these fledgling artists express their feelings and feel the needs and desires of their audiences right back. The kids might, in fact, be OK. I, however, left the concert early and was still tired the following day.
