Standing center stage, bathed in a flashing blue and red spotlight, Lucky Daye paused to let the band play behind him. Flanked by two guitarists that gradually slowed the music’s tempo, Daye brought his hand to his face and lit what appeared to be a joint as the audience screamed and the baseline for his 2019 hit “Roll Some Mo” reverberated against the walls of the House of Blues.
The screams grew even louder as he took a puff and passed it back to his drummer. The crowd danced and swayed to the music and, as the final note hit, Daye quickly thanked everyone and exited stage. In the darkness chants of Daye’s name began to fill to room and his two guitarists came back out to hype the audience up. He returned to stage to roaring applause.
“I can do a few more,” he laughed while smiling at the crowd. “Yeah, I think we’ll do a few more.”
David Debrandon Brown, better known as Lucky Daye, has gone from eliminated contestant on American Idol to Grammy-nominated artist over the last 15 years. He’s built up a resume singing background for the likes of artists like Keith Sweat and Ne-Yo while also writing for Boyz II Men, Keke Palmer, Ella Mai, Trey Songz, Mary J Blige and more.
His debut studio album, Painted, earned him Grammy nominations for Best R&B album, Best R&B song, and Best R&B performance off the strength of singles like “Roll Some Mo”, “Karma”, and “Love You Too Much”. The album’s success led to a re-release and more anticipation for a second offering fueled by the well-received EP, Table for Two, which featured Ari Lennox, Joyce Wrice and Yebba. Fans wouldn’t have to wait long as Daye’s second album, Candydrip, dropped this month along with a tour pushed by the Musiq Soulchild sampled lead single “Over”.
The reimagining of Soulchild’s “HalfCrazy” brought the house down as the room sang the lyrics to “Over” along with Daye. It was a closing song that capped off a high energy show which had Daye not only focusing on his most recent album but running through hits from his EP’s and even some features.
“I know we’re in Houston and I want to do something for y’all. I don’t do this anywhere else,” yelled Daye as he quickly walked of stage and then reappeared with Nigerian singer-songwriter, Adekunle Gold. Gold and Daye performed “Sheeba” from Gold’s 2022 release Catch Me If You Can. Gold wasn’t the only guest Daye brought to Houston with Joyce Wrice to perform “Falling In Love”.
The show did not disappoint members of the sold-out crowd. Crystal Wanse and Mari Williams could barely contain their excitement as they danced to some of their favorite Daye songs.
“I’m just a huge fan of Lucky Daye and I’ve been following his music for so long,” explained Wanse as the show was coming to a close. “I loved him and the musicians and how the show came together plus Over is my favorite song.”
Tone Ali, a self-described fan since day one, was happy fans can experience Daye and his growth as an artist.
“I’ve been a fan since day one and I’ve seen him when he was on tour for his first album, but everything now is bigger. It’s great that people are getting to know him as an artist and acknowledge his craft because he’s fire.”
Daye may be fresh off the release of just his second album but the response from the audience Thursday night shows that he has a long career ahead of him.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
