SARA BAREILLAS LIVE!! | REDHAT
We were only able to photograph the first three. Sara stayed at the piano for the first three so pictures are limited. She did also play guitar and sing two duets, unfortunately we were unable to capture those moments.
Photo by Chris Sturk
Sara Bareilles made me cry. Yup, Sara made me tear up during her performance at the Redhat Amphitheater in Raleigh NC on 10/08/2019 but more on that later. Sara Bareilles is a singer-songwriter from Eureka, California, who hit the radio airwaves with her 2007 single “Love song” which reached #4 on the billboard 100 charts. She has sold over one million albums, over nine million singles, and online downloads and has earned seven grammy award nominations including the best album for the year for “Blessed Unrest” in 2013. Sara has made an incredible impact on the world of music. She has created songs that not only trigger and resonate with an emotional response but music that also encourages the feeling of empowerment, courage and the strength to fight on and not give up.
Sara Bareilles is a singer-songwriter that brings an honest yet humbling approach to her concerts.
She embraces and engages with the crowd with her sense of humor and appreciation. During the show she made the crowd laugh several times and even took a random request from a fan in the front row to play “(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding. After she finished the song she looked at the crowd and said: “well, that was an unscripted moment!”. Before Sara came on stage Raleigh was having a little bit of a weather issue. We started to get light drizzles of rain coming in with heavy dark clouds above. Halfway through her performance she looked out into the crowd while sitting behind her piano and said: “I really thought it was going to rain harder than it has.” The crowd jokingly started booing her and she started laughing while responding “oh, was I not supposed to say that?”. The wet soaked fans started laughing with her. She constantly talked to the fans in between songs and brought them into her world by talking about the creative process behind the song. This gave fans that night a more personal experience and I appreciate it when artists and musicians do that.
Photo by Chris Sturk
So let’s talk about how Sara made me tear up. I need to start off by saying she put on a phenomenal vocal performance. She sang with passion, power, and direction. Each song had variations of vibrato (vocal notes that variate up and down in key) and a fermata (holding a vocal note for a long time) and she did this while playing the piano! So if anyone ever questioned if Sara can really sing live, I am here to tell you yes folks she can fucking sing! Ok, so back to me crying. She had two on stage solo performances, the songs she did solo with no band were “She used to be mine” and “I just want you”. Now the song that got me all teared up and fans gave her a standing ovation on was “She used to be mine”. When she started the song the entire place was quite. The only thing you heard was the light raindrops slapping off of the plastic coverings around the venue. The stage was dark with only one light focused on her. She sang that song with such passion and undeniable love that everyone felt it. She hit each high note with such clarity and pinpoint vocal accuracy that her performance literally held you captive and all you could do was intently listen to this beautiful song she was singing. When she was finishing the song and singing the last note the venue was silent. I think everyone was so taken back by her performance we were all still living in the moment. Once we realized that the song was over everyone stood up and gave her a standing ovation mixed with screams of joy, yelling her name and clapping hands that resonated throughout the city of Raleigh.
Sara Bareilles not only put on an outstanding performance in Raleigh North Carolina filled with humor, humility, joy, love, and encouragement but she also gave us music fans a glimmer of hope in a world currently filled with fear, unhindered judgment and hate. She, as an artist, humanitarian and advocate for women everywhere will go down in history as one of the greatest musicians/singer-songwriters to have ever graced our ears.
- Lead Photographer Chris Sturk
Photo by Chris Sturk
The list below is the set list she played during her tour stop in Raleigh NC.
Photo by Chris Sturk
I want to add one more thing. I had to leave the venue before she finished her last two songs due to weather and work, but as I drove by the venue I could hear her singing Gravity. I was at a red light and I just sat there listening to her sing it. She hit every note and it sounded beautiful. I was listening with my eyes closed at the red light that I did not realize it turned green. A police officer directing the traffic tapped on the hood of my car and I was then brought back to reality. Gravity is one of my favorite songs by Sara.