Fans thought they knew what they were in for. But they didn't. It was supposed to be your typical laidback, chill Tropical House concert with a guy twisting knobs at the front of the stage and fans swaying side to side in unison. Kygo turned what was supposed to be something routine into a spectacular show filled with much more than head-bobbing. His performance at Navy Pier in Chicago this past Saturday in front of over 12,000 was something to remember. The night started off with Gryffin, an up and coming DJ, who recently released his first original track. Thomas Jack took the stage after, with his long hair glistening in front of vibrant blue lights in the background. His DJ desk was simple, but very fitting with his turntable and a couple of pineapples surrounding the booth. Thomas Jack was the perfect warmup playing his hit tracks as well as some old-time favorites including "Little Talks" and his popular "Snowship" Remix.
Kygo entered the stage about 20 minutes after Thomas Jack exited. For the next hour and 20 minutes, it seemed as though the crowd was in awe. As Kygo came out from backstage, fans held their hands high, with red, white and blue light-up bracelets glowing everywhere. Diamond shaped panels lit up as a backdrop, constantly changing colors and images. Laser lights glared into the crowd with the occasional smoke machines raining down on fans. The setlist was perfect, with fans singing along to every single song. Early on in the set Kygo played his latest hit single "Stay" and brought singer Maty Noyes out onto the stage. Her voice sounded incredible live.
It was evident that there would be some sort of surprise guest for the event. After all, the Cloud Nine Tour only featured U.S. shows in San Francisco, New York City, Toronto and Chicago. Kygo blew people away at Barclay's arena in New York where he brought out Shaggy as a guest appearance, capping off the largest headlining show he has ever done. The Tropical House artist brought the same type of shock factor to Chicago. Midway through his popular "Sexual Healing" Remix, Kygo announced there was a special guest. Legend R. Kelly strutted out onto the stage to help Kygo finish the song. Of course, you can't bring out R. Kelly for one song and have him exit. So he stayed out on stage and performed his insanely popular "Ignition" Remix, with Kygo DJing in the background. I don't think there was a single fan in the audience who could've expected such a surprise. R. Kelly coming out is one of my favorite and least expected guest appearances of all time.
Later on in the show, a set of orchestra players set up alongside the stage. Kygo left his DJ booth and came down near the crowd to the piano. He began gently tapping keys and so Firestone the acoustic version began. It gave fans a chance to sit back and relax and realize how crazy of a performance they were witnessing. During the show, Kygo also played a couple of brand new tracks that are set to be released on his new album, expected to drop February 14th. Fans especially loved and embraced his new tune "I'm In Love", embracing the emotional vocals.
Kygo ended the night with his hit track "Stole The Show". Parson James came onto the stage singing the tune and hyping up the crowd. It was a magical ending as confetti poured onto fans to end the night. The Cloud Nine Tour was clearly a huge success in the United States and I have no doubt that it'll be just as popular abroad as Kygo takes his tour to Brazil, Germany, Belgium and throughout Europe. Get your ass to a Kygo show. It's worth it.