Blood Orange at Central Park SummerStage (August 16, 2014)

I’ve been a follower of Dev Hynes work over the years, going as far back as his punk-rock group Test Icicles, and his former moniker Lightspeed Champion. Nowadays, you know him best as Blood Orange (unless he’s creating score’s for movies under his own name, as he did for this year’s Palo Alto). Yet, even with all these various projects over the years, I had never caught a live performance from Hynes’ many projects. Thankfully, that finally changed.

Last night Blood Orange headlined a free show at Central Park Summerstage in celebration of 15 Years of Okayplayer. Support came from Moses Sumney and Sean Nicholas Savage, both who provided smooth, chill r&b-based jams that flowed effortlessly alongside Blood Orange.

Hynes live show was a night of collaboration, as seen as early as song three when Charlift’s Caroline Polachek came out to share vocal duties on Cupid Deluxe standout “Chamakay”, just as she does on the album. Friends frontwoman, and Hynes girlfriend, Samantha Urbani came out next, and stuck by Hynes for the rest of the night, sharing the stage, and vocals, whenever the songs called for it. The sounds that make up Cupid Deluxe are a celebration of Hynes talents as a musician, but it’s also a celebration of all the friends who made it possible.

Hynes was in good spirits, despite having to play the show with a leg brace, preventing him from dancing, something that he told the audience that disappointed him. Hynes touched on Mike Brown, as well as the Lollapalooza incident which left him injured in the brace. He had some choice words for Lollapolooza, which included a promise that he is going to destroy them.

Be that as it may, Dev, his band, and his many guests destroyed Central Park with a memorable evening of music that sent everyone home feeling that much better.

Below, find photos of all three artists.