A Night at Pandora’s Discovery Den Holiday Concert
Pandora held their second annual Pandora Holiday Discovery Den this Saturday at the Grand in the Manhattan Center. Rudimental, Kiesza, and The Neighbourhood were all set to perform.
With Pandora’s main HQ located in NYC, we were fully expecting them to pull out all the stops. They teased about it being an open bar event, but with a free, all-ages party it didn’t seem feasible. Regardless, the light sticks were out, photographers in hand, and in a huge venue, Pandora was looking to kickstart the holiday/end of the year concerts with a bang.
With this party, Rudimental were first up in what we think was a pretty great lineup – even after Charli XCX was a late scratch. Rudimental is a four-piece band from England with a very funky and heavy-bass sound with some soul mixed into it. Rudimental is essentially the perfect Pandora band. Put them on as a station and you’ll hear a mix of everything. You know they’re great when the saxophonists can get the crowd moving, your two MCs make the crowd jump, and those aforementioned light sticks wave in the air all throughout the set.
Up next was Kiezsa who replaced Charli XCX prior to the show and has been doing so much in her own right. It’s easy to say that Kiesza had the best performance of the night. Her performance was very Brooklyn-esque: two dancers with retro jersey and Nike tee, a very MC Lyte-like sound, and overall confidence that won the crowd over. To sum up her performance: She was badass.
Lastly, The Neighbourhood closed out the show; albeit, to a crowd that had left for the night. Maybe it was the Sweater Weather, but there were only about 150 left in the venue by the time their hit single came on. Not to the dismay of those who stayed, but The Neighbourhood are a great show.
Let’s see what else Pandora has in store for us this holiday.
