Rhye played to a sold-out Paradise Rock Club on a cool Wednesday night, providing a warm space via a set that made everyone wish it had come two weeks prior during Valentine’s Day. 

Boulevards, a solo funk act from Raleigh, NC, kicked the show off with an uptempo, high energy set. With the help of a live drummer and pre-recorded backing tracks, the singer came out of the gate strong, getting the audience amped up with groovy tunes. To close his set, he jumped down into the pit and encouraged the audience to dance along with him in a Soul Train line dance. 

Though Boulevards set a high bar in terms of energy, Rhye came out with patience, opening with a few songs that slowly built up the emotional intensity of the night. With a seven-piece band that included a violinist, a keyboard player, and an electric cellist who also doubled as a trombonist, the band effectively filled the space with their low-key R&B grooves. Of course, they ran down the list of tracks from their two albums – Woman and the recent Blood. They also played an unreleased track that will appear on their next release. 

As expected, the set was an intimate affair, and lead singer Milosh encouraged the audience to keep the background chatter to a dull murmur. There was a beauty to these quiet moments, and Milosh wanted to make sure their impact was felt. At one point, while encouraging such a moment, one audience member yelled “Fuck Donald Trump!” from the balcony. “I agree,” Milosh replied, “but not really the time.” Such negative forces have no place during these moments sonic beauty, and the atmosphere the band created was too sweet and intimate to let such forces penetrate. 

Check out our gallery from the show.