I love all genres, but baby-making R&B has a special place in my heart, probably stemming from an obsession with Marvin Gaye’s ‘70s output that I developed in middle school. I always knew I was a lover, not a fighter. And yes, this led to fuckboy tendencies later in life, but it also led to a bleeding heart, which is a terrible combo. Long story short, that’s ultimately what drew me into the music of Australian singer RINI, who swung by the Sinclair on Sunday night. While the house wasn’t quite at capacity, the crowd that did show up – mostly AAPI college students – squeezed their way to the front in an effort to get as close to the singer as possible. They stand by their man. 

Floyd Fuji opened the show with a set that featured the performer alone on stage, accompanied by a pad to play loops plus his guitar and bass. Between songs, he went on to talk about how he lived in various Boston neighborhoods for five years, even giving a shout out to dear old Allston. We love one of our own. 

By the time RINI took the stage, the audience was plenty hot and bothered beneath the Sinclair’s lowlight, which was the perfect ambience for RINI’s music even if it makes taking photographs a pain in the butt. We were in the mood. 

While he doesn’t shred the guitar at quite the same level, there’s a generous and delectable serving of Prince to RINI’s music in its smooth sensuality. So many of these tracks are late night groovers that feel like the sonic equivalent of the soft gleam of neon lights. There’s a deftness to his music that belies the fact that the artist is just 25 years old. 

One of the big highlights of the night came early on when RINI performed “Red Lights,” the opening track from his 2021 album Constellations. The album version of this song features a verse from Wale, but since the rapper wasn’t in tow on this tour, it fell to RINI to perform this verse, which he did without missing a beat, dropping a syllable, or stumbling over the words. 

Check out our photos from the show below.