SZA Enchants Houston Crowd On SOS Tour

SZA lit up the Toyota Center stage on Saturday, October 14, 2023, as she brought the second leg of her SOS tour to Houston. David Burke, better known as, d4vd, opened for her tour. The two made the night one to remember as they both had unforgettable performances, and worked to make the audience feel special throughout the night.

First, d4vd, an up and coming nineteen-year-old musician, ran on stage with jarring black and white visuals on screen behind him, matching the intensity of his experimental music. Throughout his set he performed a variety of genres of music, some more rock, while some were lullaby-like, which just showed how varied his talent is.

After his first song, he announced to the crowd “I lived in Houston for half of my life, which makes this show even more special.” As a celebration, he performed a song he made while living in Houston. Immediately he followed up the sing with a heavy metal song in which he performed back flips, and had stunning visuals on screen.

d4vd by Leydi Gonzalez for Coog Radio

Later on in his set he shared “I made this song in my little six-year-old sister’s closet,” before he shared a picture of his sister on his screen and prompted the crowd to say hi to her. 

As he said “she actually knows all of the words to this song,” his sister ran on stage with a mic in hand. Burke and his sister shared a heartfelt hug and he thanked her for being there with him before transitioning into another song. The two duetted to the main chorus of the song before his sister ran off stage. As she exited, I saw the stage crew and her high five which was extremely cute.

Next d4vd introduced his next song by asking the crowd, “has anyone here been ghosted?” To which the crowd unanimously replied “yes.” The singer explained that he wrote this song after he gave a girl a free ticket to his show “and she never even showed up.” Instead, she ghosted him. He told the crowd to take videos of the song and post them on their story. He said “I’m gonna repost you, so she can see the story.”

He ended his set with “Romantic Homicide,” in which he portrayed beautiful isolated vocals, enchanting the crowd.

After d4vd, the audience was incredibly hype, with many standing up and dancing to various songs on SZA’s pre-show playlist.

SZA began her set with a blue smoke screen which slowly disappeared to reveal SZA sitting on a dive board while facing the ocean, similar to her “SOS” cover art. However, instead of a jersey, SZA was wearing a sequined bralette and pants. After performing an interlude, she jumped off of the board into the “ocean,” and the screen switched to a glitched out screen, shocking fans. She appeared back on stage singing “Seek & Destroy.” At the end of the song, SZA walked to the front of the stage, smiling and waving to the crowd.

SZA by Leydi Gonzalez for Coog Radio

She sang “Notice Me,” before introducing herself to the crowd. The singer shared, “when I think of Houston, I think of music that is soul, funk, and punch, which is what I have.” She then continued by singing “Love Galore“ and “Broken Clocks,” in which she displayed beautiful vocals.

After an interlude and outfit change, she sang “Ghost in the Machine” in which she held up the middle finger while singing “f*ck,” showing her passion for her song. 

Before beginning “Blind,” she expressed to the crowd how grateful she is to be in Houston. As she reached the end of the song, SZA took off her earpiece, and listened to the crowd sing a lot with her as she sang higher and higher notes. Afterwards, she ran off stage as a camera followed her, documenting her next outfit reveal to the audience.

SZA by Leydi Gonzalez for Coog Radio

During a dance break, SZA had another outfit reveal into a red dress and sat on a life raft in which she was hoisted mid-air around the crowd. As she sang “Open Arms,” SZA threw confetti into the crowd. She stopped directly in front of my section in which she made direct eye contact with and waved at the fans in front of me as the girls ran out of storage.

She ended the show with the songs “Kill Bill,” “The Weekend” and “I Hate U,” before coming back on stage for an encore with the song “Good Days.”

About five minutes after SZA left stage, she came back on stage to thank the Houston audience for their energy before picking out fans to bring with her back stage. She said, “I can see every single one of you…I’m gathering energy from you.”

Overall it was an amazing experience, filled with an amazing atmosphere, visuals and production. SZA worked to make a wonderful show.