Ogi is an up and coming artist from the Midwest who now finds herself on the West side. She is already known for her self-possessed and progressive R&B, despite only bursting onto the music scene two years ago with her debut EP, “Monologues.” Her stylized rhythms and bluesy vocals painted a beautiful picture to start off the third and final day of Outside Lands 2024.
The crowd was thin but mighty at the start of the performance when Ogi confidently walked onto the stage. The singer instantly enchanted the audience with her powerful voice and presence as she began to sing her song “Envy.”
After her opener ended and she addressed her fans, Ogi sounded even more excited than them to be at Outside Lands 2024. She then went on to describe the layout of her performance as going through her 2022 EP and revealing the emotions behind each song.
To kick off the exploration of her monologues, Ogi told the story behind her song “Follow Me.” She said that it was based on her experience trying to get her friend out of a bad relationship. The groovy exploration of self-worth concluded with Ogi saying that her friend finally followed her advice, but only after marrying the wrong person. Both Ogi and the audience were overjoyed to learn that her friend is now remarried to someone better.
Before going into her third song, Ogi needed to get everyone into the right headspace by leading the crowd through breathing exercises. The first two breaths went in and out but Ogi decided to play games for the third. She had everyone take a deep breath in but then hold it for an incredibly long time while also trying to fake them out. With the vibe reset to a new level of calm, the crowd was in the perfect headspace for a song about telling someone off. The chromatic bluesy runs of “Let Me Go” swelled over the festival grounds while the digital art behind Ogi swirled around in colorful psychedelic transformations.
For her next song Ogi needed audience participation but warned them it would get vulgar. Everyone roared and Ogi led them through a call and response of the lyrics “bitch too bitter.” When the artist was ready to take things up to tempo, however, a technical difficulty stopped her from starting the song. During the brief intermission, Ogi connected with an audience member over their shirt. Ogi was happy to learn that she signed this fan’s shirt at a concert in LA and the fan had loved her ever since.
Once the technical issues were resolved, the performer shot into “Bitter.” The call and response had the crowd locked in and they became even more hyper when Ogi walked to the edge of the barricade midway through the number. After her fourth song of the set, Ogi introduced someone very important to her performance, her guitarist, Corey Cooper. The crowd cheered for Cooper, who was shredding it for the whole show, and he and Ogi sat on stools near the front of the stage.
It was at this moment that the artist gave the festival goers a sneak peak at what was to come by playing her upcoming release titled “Believe.” The song was a heart-filled ballad that the audience instantly latched onto. With her fifth song over, Ogi wiped tears from her eyes and told the audience she had reached the end of her set. Her fans hissed and booed but were grateful for the journey they had been on together.
Since everyone grew so much closer throughout the all too short set, Ogi decided to end it on a song about connection and family. “IKYK” came to life with funk and flair as Ogi prepared to send off her audience. Once it ended, the artist put her mic on a stool and strutted off the stage.
Just as the crowd was ready to leave, however, Ogi came rushing back on stage to surprise them with a performance of her most popular song. “I Got It” was a hip hop infused funk jam that showcased all the best elements of Ogi’s rich voice and phenomenal stage presence.
At Outside Lands 2024 Ogi provided more than a surprisingly incredible performance, but a groovy exploration of the self.
