live music

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live music ✦

Since 2015, Head in the Clouds has been the premier festival in North America to showcase Asian and Asian-American talent. From up-and-comers to famous superstars, Head in the Clouds has grown quite a bit. This year, the festival celebrated its 10-year anniversary by bringing together acts from around the world for an unforgettable 2-day musical adventure.

Warren Hue, ARMNHMR, and Babebee

Admittedly, my first Head in the Clouds festival was last year in New York, so I was actually unprepared for how much bigger this one in Los Angeles was. It was at least 10x the size, and the artists were split between two separate stages. At first, I wasn’t a fan of walking across festival grounds in order to check out all of the artists, but I quickly realized that the setup was necessary in order to keep the rotation of performers running smoothly.

On Day 1, DJ E-Man and Warren Hue kicked off the start of the festival with some techno and hip-hop vibes, setting an exciting tone for the rest of the day. I walked over to the other stage, and my mood shifted to a more mellow state as Babebee’s synth and alternative-pop sound gave me a chance to cool off. Afterwards, Xin Liu mesmerized the audience with her powerful vocals and dance numbers, which then reenergized me. Seiji Oda’s chill raps gave me another opportunity to relax before ARMNHMR took the stage, but what I liked about HITC’s artist rotation is that it offered a variety of different genres to constantly keep the atmosphere feeling fresh.

ARMNHMR then drew a massive crowd as the duo is quite popular in the rave scene. After playing a good number of head-banging tunes, they introduced a guest that I honestly didn’t see coming: FaZe Clan member and Twitch streamer Jasontheween.

For those who don’t know, Jason is a Vietnamese-American Twitch streamer who suddenly exploded in popularity over the past year due to his entertaining mix of content, including IRL streams and engaging with his audience. As someone who’s terminally online, I already knew who Jason was, but I found his presence simultaneously funny and puzzling, the latter of which was because those who aren’t familiar with him would go, “who the hell is this guy?” Surprisingly, this isn’t the last time he’ll make random appearances during sets.

Karri and Miso Bring Fresh R&B Energy

Karri was a breath of fresh air as he was the first R&B artist of the show, marking a departure from the more EDM and hip-hop-focused acts earlier. The first standout of the festival was No Na, an Indonesian girl group signed to 88Rising. They had an absolutely infectious stage presence as they performed their songs, including unreleased ones called “Back Off” and “Sad Face.” Part of their commanding performance was due to the fact that they utilized the entire stage, including the runway in the middle, which increased opportunities for audience engagement and fanservice, which these girls took full advantage of.

Following their show, Miso was up next and she changed the mood with her R&B-infused vocals. It was also her birthday, so a few of the audience members sang Happy Birthday to her, making her set a more personal and intimate one compared to the rest.

Porter Robinson, Rich Brian, and Wang Ok

When Porter Robinson performed, I didn’t even question his inclusion. Even though he isn’t Asian, he’s so popular within the EDM scene (where Asian and Asian-American constantly find community), that it only made sense for him to perform at HITC. While not a raver myself, I enjoy some of his songs, such as “Shelter.”

It’s one of his most well-known songs due to the gorgeous and emotional anime-style music video that accompanied it. He performed it near the end of his set, so I was satisfied. Oh, and Jasontheween made another appearance! He doesn’t really do much aside from hyping up the audience and attempting to crowd surf, but hey, I’m glad he’s having fun.

Before the biggest acts of Day 1 came on, Wang Ok performed her Chinese songs and it struck me that Chinese internationals made up a sizable chunk of the audience. It was a welcome change of pace to hear music in a different language (even if I did understand it since I’m Chinese). It was a reminder of how music could bring together so many different audiences, especially during a time of sinophobia with the current administration.

Rich Brian came on next, and as a veteran of HITC, his act didn’t disappoint. He played some favorites including “Who That Be” and “Jumpy,” which included a guest appearance from Ski Mask the Slump God. But the most touching moment of his set was when he revealed that during the peak of COVID-19 in 2020, he missed out on important family milestones. His siblings got married and had kids, and he dedicated his performances to his family.

Stephanie Poetri revealed that she had very recently gotten married and performed some new and unreleased songs, including “Mother Tongue” and “My Hometown is Sinking.” Her angelic voice echoed through the night sky, and once again, I felt relaxed.

Dean & Tabber Hit the Stage

Up next was my most anticipated performance of the night: Dean & Tabber. Both of them took turns singing some solo songs, such as the former’s “Put my Hands on You” and the latter’s “Hysteric Glamour,” before coming together to perform their collaborative song “Chi-Ka.” Some other solo songs Dean sang included his latest single, “Die 4 You” and “Instagram.”

I will admit, though, as a long-time fan of Dean, I was disappointed that he didn’t sing songs from his 2016 album, 130 Mood: TRBL. Even so, I was glad to be able to finally see him live.

Before the final act of the night, Bixby’s sweet falsetto kept me listening through his entire set. His sensual songs were a much-needed follow-up to Dean & Tabber’s performances.

G-Dragon and CL Close Out Day 1

To close out the night, the king of K-pop, G-Dragon, finally came on stage. He walked on stage with a strikingly detailed blue coat with a lion on the back, which truly gave him a regal aura throughout the entire night. He started off with a bang by performing his latest single, “Power,” and then followed up with a mix of solo and BigBang songs such as “Crayon” and “One of a Kind.”

During the middle of the set, he brought out a surprise appearance from 2NE1’s CL, and they performed their collaborative hit, “The Leaders.” To give G-Dragon a bit of a break, CL sang “The Baddest Female,” before handing the rest of the night back to him.

G-Dragon ended the night with four more songs, including “Drama,” and “Take Me” from his latest album, Ubermensch. He also performed “Bullshit” which had snippets of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” and had the whole crowd cheering, as well as “Too Bad” with some snippets of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.”

I was impressed at how well the festival ran its artists, making sure that there was ample time in between sets to make sure everyone could see the artists they wanted to, with minimal overlap. Closing Day 1 with G-Dragon was the perfect choice to get people excited for Day 2. Even CL hyped the crowd by saying that she’d return the next day with the rest of her girls from 2NE1.

Stay tuned for our complete breakdown of Head in the Clouds Day 2.

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