Train cars from Manhattan to Brooklyn were filled with an air of excitement. From fans carrying their EXO light sticks to creating last minute posters, MetaMoon Festival had fans from all over making the trek to Brooklyn. 

With fans traveling all the way from Taipei to the UK, it's no exaggeration to say MetaMoon was the place to be. With a star-studded lineup consisting of Sury Su, Karencici, Amber Liu, Lay Zhang, and many more, MetaMoon was set to be a concert for the books.

The show began with the charismatic Host MC Jin greeting the audience and letting us know he would be our MetaMoon captain for the night. Tonight was a collection of some of the hottest artists coming out of China and we had the pleasure to be a part of their first U.S. audience. 

Sury Su

Though the show had just started ,and though the venue had just begun to fill in, Sury Su put on a performance that had people rushing to their seats. Some may know her as the Girls Planet 999 finalist Su Ruiqi, but tonight she was showing the world Sury Su. Opening with her highly addictive track “Dust of Dreams,” she filled the arena with deep bass and EDM, and had the crowd instantly jump to their feet. Following with her song “Compass,” the audience danced along with Sury Su and her crew. If the crowd was this excited as the first act took the stage, the excitement could only grow as the night continued.

Karencici

After Sury Su, another female who dominates the industry, Karencici, took the stage. After the release of the insanely popular album PANTHEPACK from group PANTHEPACK featuring Karencici, Jackson Wang, ICE, and J.Sheon, it was no surprise guests were excited to see what Karencici would bring to the stage. For some, PANTHEPACK had been their first introduction to Karencici.

Opening with “Candy,'' Karencici came out of the gate with the same boss vibe she presented in PANTHEPACK and the audience loved every second of her set. Continuing into track “Kiss Me” and closing with “R&B Girl,'' if you weren’t listening to Karencici before, you definitely had her in your playlist by now.

9m88

Approaching our third artist of the night, the audience had seen our fair share of hype songs. As she entered the stage, 9m88 came to give the audience a chill R&B set that had the crowd grooving. It's always fun to get hyped, but 9m88’s set perfectly balanced the night. Closing out her set with an upbeat funk track, the audience got to watch 9m88 dance around the stage and highlight her amazing band. 

ØZI

Taking the stage next was Taiwanese-American artist ØZI who guaranteed his set was going to have the audience up and moving. Opening with his indie funk track “hair tie,” he let the audience get a taste of what he would bring to the stage. As he yelled for the crowd to get on their feet, the whole venue jumped around as he performed a few more tracks. Ending out his set was track “Black Out” which featured 9m88. Though ØZI is from the U.S, he expressed his gratitude for us being his first New York audience and promised we would not be his last.

Tyson Yoshi

Following ØZI was Hong Kong artist Tyson Yoshi. Opening with the track “if i die tonight,” Yoshi explained that many of his songs are written with a backstory, and for “if I die tonight” it was the story of one of his fans who was dying that inspired the song. Keeping a level of vulnerability with the audience, he performed his recently released song “i don’t smoke & i don’t drink.” Yoshi revealed the song was a clapback at the people who make assumptions about him without knowing him. His set was a mixture of upbeat tracks and soulful ballads, paired with unique graphics and videography to showcase the best of Tyson Yoshi. 

Tia Ray

Artist Tia Ray would be the next to greet the audience. With a performance of her song “Ready for Love” that had the crowd in their feelings. “Ready for Love” is the kind of song that the instant you hear it, it makes you happy and want to dance. As she stood at the end of the extended stage singing for the audience, the audience sang back to her, waving their arms and phone lights in unison.

Amber Liu

Photos: Shea Kastriner

As the clock approached the 9:30 hour, the show would soon be coming to a close, but not without seeing the MetaMoon headliners do their thing. Up first of the two was Amber Liu, who began her set with “EASIER” that came out earlier this year on her Z! album. 

Amber then gave a quick introduction before leading into dance tracks “make it better” and ”vegas.” As she jumped and danced excitedly around the stage, the crowd and her band joined in feeding off of her energy. 

The next song was “PARADISE” and after the two previous exciting songs, Amber and the audience were still on cloud nine. Continuing into “DON’T DANCE,” Amber did the opposite as she pulled out her dance moves during the hook of the song and jammed out with the crowd. With only one song left in her set, Amber closed out her performance with “Other People,”  another dance track that everyone was able to enjoy.

With one headliner down, that meant LAY would be next to take the stage.

LAY

Photos: Lay Zhang

The audience took on the resemblance of an EXO concert. With lightsticks waving frantically, EXO-Ls were widely in attendance and prepared to give LAY’s set their all. Opening with the 2020 track “LIT,” the stage was washed red as strobe lights raced around the venue and smoke filled the stage. Emerging from between his dancers, LAY began the first song in his extensive setlist. As he followed with “Sheep (Alan Walker Relift),” the audience couldn’t contain their screams. He showcased his dance skills and immense stage presence with the following tracks “Changsha” and recently released song “Veil.” Further highlighting his performance ability, LAY did a Michael Jackson-inspired dance break with the support of his background dancers. 

Continuing into back-to-back hits, we were treated to “NAMANANA,” an EDM medley of “BOSS,” “Ambush,” and “Mapo Tofu,” and “3 Wishes.” With only two songs in his set left, and in true LAY fashion, the show would go out with a bang. The stage lighting blended into cool tones of red and purple and the familiar twinkle of “Honey” filled the arena. Giving the stage his all, LAY closed out with “Joker.” LAY wrapped the night up on a high note and had the crowd begging for more.

If you missed MetaMoon this year, don’t worry—they’ll definitely be back to do it bigger and better. Congratulations to a successful first MetaMoon and cheers to many more!