There wasn’t a cloud in the sky on Friday afternoon as Ravyn Lenae took to the Lakeshore stage for an easygoing set that allowed the audience to unwind from the tireless demands of the four-day festival.
Hailing from Chicago, Lenae has been releasing music since 2015. It was only recently that she gained viral success after her song “Love Me Not” exploded on TikTok in 2024.
The song’s captivating melody and earworm-y lyrics immediately captured the attention of social media, skyrocketing Lenae into stardom. With 30 million monthly listeners on Spotify and three albums, Lenae has become not only an internet sensation but a worldwide phenomenon.
Lenae appeared on stage wearing a bright red dress a few minutes after 3:40 p.m., the screen behind her turning into a hazy purple. “Chicago, are you ready?” she said to thunderous cheers.
“1 of 1” was her first song, providing a captivating start to the set. Lenae’s silky soprano, combined with the sleek guitar melody and sporadic electronic pulses, gave the song a dream-pop ambience that enchanted the audience.
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Throughout her performance, Lenae maintained the ethereal quality in her voice, with a girlish aspect adding even more charm to the artist’s endearing character.
Lenae’s following song, “Satellites,” strayed away from the dream-pop feel of “1 of 1” into something a little more neo-soul.
She swayed her hips as her voice floated into the audience, encouraging the crowd to sweep their arms from side to side.
“I’m Ravyn, and it feels so good to be home,” she expressed to the crowd, paying homage to her Chicago roots.
Throughout each song, Lenae’s stage presence was commanding, but not in an overly demanding way. She addressed the crowd with the same tenderness in her voice that you might hear when a mother addresses her child.
She effortlessly reached the highest notes of each song, the lulling quality of her voice blending with the laid-back guitar melodies and fluidity of the keyboard.
As she sang “Dream Girl,” she spun across the stage in large swirls, her arms twirling in the air. The dynamic instrumentation only enhanced her whispery voice as she eloquently glided over the unhurried melody, her voice rising and falling with each note.
Lenae stepped down from the stage and gracefully headed towards the barricade, singing directly to the audience as her voice lilted the lyrics of “Skin Tight,” her 2022 collaboration with Steve Lacy.
Lenae’s final song of the afternoon was “Love Me Not,” the familiar sound of the viral hit immediately eliciting cheers from the audience.
Lenae’s set was a serene pit stop during a festival that can often become tiresome and overwhelming. She allowed the audience to simply stop and feel — to take a breath and sway along to the music.
It was as undemanding as it was completely captivating, promising to linger with the audience long after Lenae exited the stage.
