Concert Review: Stephen Sanchez transports New York back to the 50s
By: Taarena Rathore
21 year old singer-songwriter Stephen Sanchez made his way to the New York state fair, giving Syracuse fans the time of their lives. Sanchez never fails to go above and beyond with his shows. His previous tour explored a fictional story of Troubadour Sanchez based on his album Angel Face, ending with the “Death Of The Troubadour.” With his 2024 “The Moon Crests” tour, Sanchez went back in time to the 50s, where the audience could see Troubadour Sanchez and The Moon Crests live on a talk show. The Troubadour is now “Televised & Terrific” as quoted on his tour poster.
The evening kicked off with talk show host Connie Co, who built the anticipation within the audience. After a brief introduction, the chair labeled "The Connie Co Show " gradually opened, unveiling Stephen Sanchez, sending the crowd into a craze.
Much of Sanchez’s inspiration comes from older artists such as Elvis Presley, or Roy Orbison, and his 50s to 60s vibes stayed true at this show. With a blue suit and a polka dot tie he danced around the stage keeping the energy high.
Sanchez sang many of his bigger hits like “Evangeline” and “Until I Found You,” but he made sure to slow it down with some of his acoustic songs, such as “Something About Her.” He even introduced a few new songs that have yet to be released. “I wanted to write a song for everyone to remember here that you are so beautiful,” he told the crowd before getting into his next song. He said “It’s not finished yet, but I keep playing it.” These songs felt more intimate and he built a connection with the crowd as he had them echo the lyrics “I’m so beautiful.”
After playing “No One Knows,” he joked with the crowd saying “I guess I’ll see you later folks.” A few seconds later he made his way into the crowd as he sang “Put Your Head On My Shoulder,” a song originally by Paul Anka. He walked through the audience picking a few fans to dance with, making their night even more special.
Connie Co made a few more appearances through the night, joking about the different artists that they previously had on the fictional show, such as Roy Orbison. They briefly discussed the tour, and the last show in Japan, but made sure to tell the crowd that Syracuse was the city that Sanchez fell in love with.
As the set was nearing the end he played one of his well known songs “High,” throwing a rose into the crowd. The show ended with the song “Shake,” in which he brought out the tambourine. Both Sanchez and the crowd put in their all with this last song, singing and dancing together, making it the perfect way to end the night.
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