The 25th of September at The Fonda was a magical and community-driven experience. Looking at the crowd, you could tell how much the fans love and appreciate David Kushner and Chance Pena. Everyone waited in anticipation for the first artist of the night to grace the stage.

The first artist being Chance Pena, and his music and presence instantly created a warm nostalgic atmosphere. His music gives off the feeling of doing your best in life and what it’s like to take every experience day by day but also the warm feeling of coming home after being away for so long as a stronger person than who you were before. His music is relatable and has given me strength and hope, and I’m sure it’s done the same for many of his fans as well. I feel his music is unique as well and I love the gentle melodies and poetic lyrics.

Each song he sang was special in its own way and had its own unique story. I’m sure this is just the beginning and Chance’s music will change the lives of many more people in the future.  "Star Hopping Lover" and "I Am Not Who I Was" are two of my favorite songs by him, the lyrics have really stuck with me.  If you haven’t listened to him yet, I promise no matter who you are, you’ll find at least one song that you’ll feel a connection with. His music also fills me with a desire to travel and see more of the world and the people who inhabit it, to open my mind and heart to more opportunities.

When he got off the stage, I wasn’t ready for it to be over. Although you could already tell the next and final act was destined to be a thrilling experience and memory as well. The crowd grew more excited with each passing moment, some of them were even proudly holding up signs showing their support for David Kushner. I remember there being this wholesome moment where several people were waving and holding up hearts in the audience and you could feel all the love and warm energy that was filling up the space. David Kushner made a grand entrance in a ray of flashing lights. I later found out he wasn’t feeling well while performing but he still kept his composure and gave it his all. Which I feel speaks volumes for just how talented and dedicated he is to his music and fans.  His music is enchanting and has a deep but beautiful sadness to it that will echo in your head. "Mr. Forgettable" is one of my favorite songs by him. I feel like it’s a song that a lot of people can relate to, especially if you’ve experienced depression. During some of the songs he came out into the audience and from the fans reactions to it, you could tell just how important those moments were.

I also really liked the moments when I saw him smiling while playing with his guitar player and just really any moment I caught a smile.  David always looked cool on stage but whenever he smiled it just made everything feel more warm and magical. During the finale for the night, the stage was covered in a sea of red smoke and a poet came up on stage to read a poem that is connected to David Kushner’s song "Daylight". It was a very powerful poem that impressed both me and my friend that I came with. Hearing "Daylight" live, I could understand how it blew up so quickly, and seeing it live just is a whole different experience compared to just finding it on a TikTok video. The song was more powerful.

Besides the artists, I met a lot of amazing people at this show, one of them was a young photographer who was only 15 but filled with determination to make it as a concert photographer and in my eyes just from her courage to reach out to seize opportunities and her passion for music, she will be a photographer that everyone should be keeping their eyes on.  I also got a chance to interact with Chance Pena and some of his team by the merch table. They were all lovely people who were great to interact with. I was really impressed and touched by the fact that even though Chance was probably really tired, he took time to talk to all of his fans who approached him, took pictures with them and even signed some shirts. One of the notable interactions, that I thought was really awesome was hearing that Chance does his best to try to look at everything his fans tag him in on social media. He highly values everyone who supports him and I’m sure David Kushner does as well.  I can’t wait to get another chance to catch both of these artists again and to see more of the impact they have on the world.