Lively music, bright lights and enthusiastic cheers filled Matthews Arena during Kehlani’s March 29 performance for Springfest 2025, joined by openers Isaac Dunbar and DJ Baby Indiglo.
Hosted by the Council for University Programs, or CUP, Kehlani was chosen as the headliner for the annual Northeastern CUP Springfest concert.
“Kehlani had gotten a lot of votes on our summer survey, so we had indication that students at Northeastern were really interested in seeing her and having her come to our school,” said Vienna Volinsky, a fifth-year communication studies major and one of the associate directors of concerts for CUP.
From the moment the doors opened, Matthews Arena filled up rapidly. DJ Baby Indiglo occupied the wait time before Dunbar and Kehlani’s performances and had everyone nodding along to her set.
“I also went to [CUP’s] fall concert, and I think it was really nice how they added the DJ this time for the wait time,” said Deisy Godinez, a third-year civil engineering major.
Dunbar performed songs like “makeup drawer,” “blonde,” “kissy kissy” and “Apartment A.” Between songs, Dunbar took the time to thank the crowd and spoke about how this was the biggest audience he had ever performed in front of, prompting supportive cheers. He hyped up Kehlani to introduce her, causing the audience to erupt in gleeful anticipation.
The moment Kehlani came on stage, the audience went hysterical, with everyone in the crowd whipping out their phones as she was illuminated by blue lights. She made her dramatic entrance with her hit song, “Next 2 U,” accompanied by a live band.
After performing her first two songs, Kehlani took a quick pause to talk about the end of her 54-show world tour, where she performed from South Korea to the Netherlands, and thanked Northeastern for having her.
Kehlani kept the energy high with songs like “What I Want,” “Sucia,” “Gangsta” and “Distraction.” At one point, she came down from the stage to the floor section, prompting screams among the audience. The synergy between her and the dancers only added to the entertainment, with multiple dance breaks worked in. During “Gangsta,” Kehlani and one of her guitarists stood next to each other as she let the spotlight shine on him for a bit while he played an amazing riff.
“Doing a lot of stuff with her guitarist and the person on the keyboard — it was super cool, it gave a rock vibe. It just hyped everyone up,” said Malina Duong, a third-year psychology major.
As the concert approached its second half, Kehlani shifted the tone and performed a couple of slow songs.
The audience swayed and sang along as Kehlani showcased her beautiful live vocals through hits like “Honey” and “everything,” during which the crowd took out their phone flashlights and waved them in the air. Claps to “Lose My Wife” reverberated across the walls of Matthews as everyone got into the vibe of the song.
“I loved the second half, where she kind of slowed it down a lot,” said Kiki Biaou, a fourth-year criminal justice and political science combined major. “Me and my friends just love to dance and vibe and sing, so we had a good time singing to the second half of the concert. She made eye contact with me at some point and my knees melted — I’m gonna carry that with myself for the rest of my life.”
Toward the end of the concert, Kehlani brought back the energetic liveliness from the first half, performing songs like “Deep” that further displayed the talent of the live band. She even performed a cover of Jordan Adetunji’s song “KEHLANI,” which had the entire crowd singing along as she showed off her moves with her dancers.
She concluded with favorites “Nights Like This” and “After Hours” to the delight of the audience. After performing “After Hours,” she expressed her gratitude once more, waving goodbye as she exited the stage, leaving the audience in a daze from the fun of the concert.
“I immediately bought tickets. I’m a pretty good fan — I love most of her songs,” said Felicia Sobande, a fourth-year biochemistry major. “Everything after ‘Honey’ was hit after hit in my opinion, I really enjoyed that. I think my favorite was probably ‘Ring.’”
Many audience members have been fans since they were kids and expressed their joy at being able to see Kehlani live.
“I’ve been a fan of Kehlani since middle school, so right away I was like, ‘I have to go,’” Duong said. “I brought my sister and her girlfriend who were also big fans as well. She didn’t skip out on any of the set list that she had planned for her tour, and she went through even old school stuff.”
Even for those in front of the stage in the floor section, the amazing experience justified the nearly four hours of standing.
“My feet were killing me, but I had a really great time and all of it was worth it,” Biaou said. “I have been a fan of Kehlani since middle school — that is my queen, she’s majestic and beautiful and amazing. Overall, great experience.”
