Photo Gallery: Bryce Vine @ Empire Live, 03/16/2023

By Reid Schaefer On Mar 17, 2023

Bryce Vine made a splash at Empire Live Thursday night. With opening act bLAck pARty supporting the 2023 Seratonin Tour, it was certainly a night that lived up to its tour name.

bLAck pARty took the stage around 8 pm with DJ Mainstream Macy, and the duo kicked off the night with a refreshing and mellow setlist. The self-described “tropical funk” artist sang some of his top hits, including “Dancing,” “Hotline,” “Summer Love,” and his latest release, “Bomb.” He also sang one of his top-streamed Spotify songs, “Bloom,” while handing out roses to the crowd. Mainstream Macy surprised the crowd by closing out with “Party In The USA” by Miley Cyrus. Overall, bLAck pARty was a very enjoyable opener and truly immersed the crowd in his music.

The lights dimmed around 9:00, and the crowd began to call for Bryce Vine. Anticipation was high as a curious intro video played on the screens. Vine vibrantly took the stage and opened with “Where the Wild Things Are” from his debut EP Lazy Fair. His busy set list consisted of many hit songs, including “Sunflower Seeds,” “Glamorama,” and viral sensation “Drew Barrymore” (which has amassed over 300 million streams on Spotify). Vine pumped up the crowd with a cover of “Pursuit of Happiness” and slowed things down with a seated performance of his song “Problems.” He closed out his set with an energetic encore that included fan favorites “La La Land” and “Sour Patch Kids.”

Vine had an electric stage presence as he jumped back and forth between dancing and playing his bright blue Fender Mustang. The energy was amplified by colorful visuals on the screen behind him. The upbeat set list was also paired with beautiful trumpet and guitar solos from his band members. His fan interaction was the highlight of a memorable night as he made multiple comments about how fun Albany was, jumped into the crowd a few times, and showered the audience with water during his encore. To summarize his set list, I would truthfully describe it as a “no-skip” playlist and definitely recommend attending one of his shows in the future.