How Keznamdi’s Blxxd And Fyah Tour Lit Up SOB’s

A great live show doesn’t just sound good, it rewires how you hear the album afterward. We're back with a reggae concert recap, where Keznamdi brought his Blxxd And Fyah tour to SOB’s New York City and turned a standing-room venue into a shared choir of lyrics, riddim and message. After his 2026 Grammy win for Best Reggae Album, watching him lead his own band and hold the room with ease feels like growth and greatness in one. 

We talk through the night like a real-time concert review: arriving solo, catching the set right as he hits the stage, and hearing how songs from Skyline Volume 1 and Bloodline land next to the newer Blxxd & Fyah material. The intimacy of SOB’s matters here, because you can see the details and feel the engineering work that keeps his voice clear and the band tight. When the crowd sings back every word, the call-and-response becomes part of the arrangement, especially on heavier tracks like Colonial Bondage and River Of Jordan, plus a powerful Forever Grateful performance moment. 

We also get into what separates a good set from a memorable one: not rushing between songs, adding personal storytelling, controlling the energy from high to slow to high again, and delivering a Blxxd & Fyah freestyle flip that feels made for NYC. And when special guests like Runkus, Marlon Asher, and Hector Roots Lewis step onstage, it turns into the best kind of artist discovery. Festival season is here, and with AI rising, we make the case for seeing your favourite reggae artists live while you can. 

Subscribe for more reggae interviews and show reviews, share this with a friend who loves live music, and leave a rating or review. What concert should we cover next?

Transcript

Welcome Back And Why I Returned

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of the Styling Vides podcast with yours truly Michaela. If you are new to the family, welcome to the family. If you are returning, welcome back, family. It has been a little while. I I took a mini break unintended uh from the podcast. Um, but I am back and I wanted to share my experience uh going to the Kes Namdi Blood and Fire performance here in New York um at SOB's. So as you guys may or may not know, Kes Namdi won the Grammy uh for 2026 Best Reggae album, and so he is touring after having that winning and accolade, specifically in the US.

Why Kazamdi’s Tour Matters Now

SPEAKER_00 1:34

And I think it's a great opportunity to see him live. I was talking with a friend of mine who was also at the concert, and I said, you know, for me it's a real full soccer moment. I have been listening to Kaz Namdi for a while now, and I remember when Chronics did a performance in Brooklyn at the amphitheater in uh Coney Island, he brought on Kaz Namdi to do victory. And uh at the time, a lot of people had not heard the song, they weren't really familiar with him, and so to see him perform by himself and with a band on his own solo tour um for me was a a full circle moment because that was the last time that I had seen him. And it's exciting when you get to see artists before they really start to rise, but there's something that you see in them as a passionate creator and lover of music that you get to watch their growth. And since then, uh Blood and Fire is his third release. Um, and so he's been putting in the work for quite a while. Um, but again, touring is really picking back up, which I'm really, really excited about because seeing someone perform live, um, it's completely different than just experiencing the album. And I think when it comes to reggae in particular, there is this experience in person that you just um it it captures it on record, but then it kind of up the level of which you experience the artists and the music itself. And so for me, this excitedly was no different because I have been listening to Blood and Fire since it dropped, um, and it's been on repeat for me, but the performance really just elevated the album experience for me because he did such a great job connecting with the audience um from the very get-go. Um, so I got there as soon as he had hit the stage. I got there a little late, so I didn't know what happened before he got on stage and I got a pretty decent spot. Um, I went by myself. Uh, so I stood on the stairs and got some really great footage um enjoying uh the performance. And he did songs from Skyline

Full Circle From Feature To Headliner

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Volume 1, which is his first album, Bloodline, which is the second album. But the bulk of the music really came from Blood and Fire, which is his new album, his latest album. So if you haven't gotten a chance to listen to it, make sure you do that. Uh but I was really excited to hear everyone singing, all of the songs. They were really um engaged in his catalog, uh, which was crazy to me. Well, not really crazy to me, but um exciting uh in a way because you know, getting to hear your fans hear back the the song, the call and response, and singing along word for word is something that I'm sure you know artists really don't take for granted. But I was excited that the crowd really knew his music, they were into you know his entire set. And the band, you know, set you know, all much me love band, and the band really adds to the experience. And um, I was actually standing uh close to the technician of the engineer who was um doing all of the engineering for the sound and stuff like that. So he sounded so clear, so crisp, and he could have done a bigger venue, but I I I like the intimacy of SOBs um from a standing room perspective. You feel like you can stand anywhere in the venue and really capture um

Arriving Solo And Catching The Set

SPEAKER_00 6:05

the essence of who the artist is, you can see them clearly, um, you can sing along word for word. So I love the intimacy of a of a smaller venue, and that might be the reason why that he picked it because he really doesn't have a lot of performances that I have seen in the stateside, and uh he also has Skyline levels, which is in Jamaica, which is a smaller uh performance venue that um they have food and drinks. I have yet to go there, but it's on my list for sure. Um, in terms of spaces, I think you know, having that smaller venue vibe um gives you a connection to your audience. And so I like that he really started with that. Um, but in terms of the performance, he kept the energy for the entire time. He performed for maybe about an hour and a half. Um, and again, he did songs from his first album, but really stayed in the pocket of blood and fire. I think Colonial Bondage was probably one of my favorites in River of Jordan because it kind of slowed down. Um, it was like a slower pace, and everybody was just singing word for word, like the entire songs. Um, and those are real like serious message songs that hold such deep, like spiritual meaning that it was actually really um nice to see the crowd so involved. And I think um the way that the engineer really did a great job on Forever Grateful, um, it made that a powerful performance song for him. And I think uh what I truly enjoyed was that he took his time with each song, he didn't rush in between the songs, you got to know, and he did a little bit of storytelling about him

SOB’s Intimacy And Crystal Sound

SPEAKER_00 8:55

and his sisters and growing up and like the fight that he would get. So I think you know, incorporating that human element in between songs and really not rushing any of the performances, it really gave everyone a chance to experience the entire energy of the song. And from a listener perspective to seeing the performance, it almost feels like he made the album with the performance in mind. And I I love that when that comes together because um sometimes you can hear um the performances and they don't match the what your expectation is from the album. And here his performance and the album really complemented each other in the sense that you wanted to go back and listen to those songs and you would draw that connection. And I think uh from an artist to a fan perspective, that's what you want. Um, you want people to feel connected to your music and your performance in the same way, and so he really, really did that. Um, I love how he came on with this high energy and then slowed it down with the slower tempoed songs that were more about conscious messaging and then really brought it right back up energy-wise. So he did his blood on fire freestyle, um, which is over the Buster Rhymes, put your hands on my eyes can see, beat rhythm, um, which was excited to see because he's in New York and Buster's from New York. Um, and so the band played that song and he did it, and it didn't sound immediately like the the rhythm that you would hear, so it was it was slightly different, and so the freestyle kind of rang off because people, you know, really like that. And then of course he brought special guests. I love when artists bring special guests to kind of um and Naomi Cohen did the same thing at the end of her set. She brought up people to kind of perform like one or two songs, and I think that that gives the audience a chance to experience what happens in Jamaica that doesn't necessarily always happen here. I think it used to, um, but it's not as prevalent anymore. And it gives them a chance to introduce people that they're listening to. I remember on um the Always on Key podcast, um we were talking about what's your favorite way to, you know, discover an artist. And um one of the hosts had said, you know, I like for my um my artist

Message Songs That Slowed Time

SPEAKER_00 11:35

that I listen to to introduce me to new artists. And this is kind of what that really feels like when um they bring up artists, and sometimes it's the same artists. Uh so Runkus, uh, Marlon Asher and Hector Roots Lewis um came up on stage and he has a song with Marlon Asher. And then Runkus has a really, really great album out Supernova. If you haven't listened to it, you really should. It's such a sonically sound album, it's so layered. I think I'm gonna have to do a whole separate review on just that album because it's so good. Um, and then Hector Roots Lewis, you guys know he is a friend of the show. I have interviewed him and his album is also really, really good. And so I love when that camaraderie that comes together at the end of really, you know, enjoyment and celebrating one another and showcasing the work that they have um in rotation as well. So, all in all, a really great performance. If you get to see Kazamdi over the summer, I think he has uh quite a few tour dates. Um you guys should definitely check him out, definitely worth it. Um, he brings really great energy, high energy. He's not jumping all over the stage, but he is such an artist that really connects well with his audience to the messaging. And of course, you know, I'm gonna drop some clips on uh socials. Um, so make sure you guys check that out so you can see for yourself. And um this episode is definitely a little bit shorter than all of my other episodes, but um, I think performing arts and performing on stage is my jam, it's where I really enjoy the music the most when it's good, it's so good. And so this was one of those moments that I wanted to share with you guys here today on the podcast. So make sure you guys uh are subscribed. Um, check out all of my previous content and look out for the next episode. So on the next episode of the Silent Vibes Podcast, it's actually a takeover with Strictly Facts podcast, which you know is Breadfruit Media Family. Um, I talked to Alexandria about her dissertation,

Freestyle Switch Up And Special Guests

SPEAKER_00 13:56

which she did on women in reggae. And so it is such a great conversation. I look forward to you guys hearing it. Um, and it was just a great eventful conversation, continuing kind of on on women in the business um and really highlighting them. So it is festival season in the States, so make sure you guys uh get out and check out performances because you know, especially with the rise of AI, you want to make sure you check out your favorite artists while you can see them in on a stage because that's where they're going to be able to differentiate themselves and you can buy merch and feel the energy, and it just is a completely different vibe. So uh maybe I'll do a little list of festivals you guys should check out if you're in the States. I think in the States and in Europe, they have a lot of reggae festivals. Um, so maybe I'll do that so that you guys can kind of tap in and see what is coming to your city. But if you are looking forward to a performance from an artist um that is coming up in your area, please drop me some notes. I would love to hear

Next Episode Preview And Festival Season

SPEAKER_00 15:05

from you. Um, and thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. And until next time, live tummy peeps.