Denver artist Sur Ellz performed at OpenAir for the first time this month.
He played a set of R&B music with neo-soul influences, armed with a looper pedal to create layered vocals and backed by a member of Denver hip-hop group Air Dubai. He also spoke with Aaron 'Loki' Johnson about his love for dance, his forthcoming "Magic" EP and how breaking his ankle affected his recent performances.
Steam the entire session above. You can also read highlights and watch video from the performance below.
On being a lifelong performer:
"My grandmother always had me singing around town at different events. I sang at Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I sang at a Nuggets basketball game. I was doing dance classes: I took jazz, I took modern, I took hip-hop, I took tap.
"I've been singing since I was 2. I love to perform in front of people, to be in front of people and fill up their hearts with good feelings."
On learning to play with a performance looper:
"The first time I got to play with it I was in a really big cathedral at the Althea Center for Engaged Spirituality, and it has really nice beautiful acoustics. It was blaring through the whole cathedral and this lady came and was like, 'Wow, I thought that there was an angel in here!'"
Songs performed:
- "Gotta Find Love"
- "Echo"
- "Open Water"
