XPN Fest Recap: Xenia Rubinos slays her genre-defying set at Wiggins Park

Xenia Rubinos | photo by Jeremy Zimmerman for WXPN

If you missed the supremely cool Xenia Rubinos‘ Saturday set, do yourself a favor and listen to the live recording that was streamed on WXPN. The Brooklyn-based artist absolutely slayed her set on the Marina Stage, and I can’t imagine any complaints had the schedule allowed for double her stage time.

Xenia Rubinos’ sound defies categorization – one verse she’s funk, the next soul, the one after borderline hip hop. No matter the crazy unpredictability of her songs, the one thing they all have in common (besides being completely awesome) is that they are fun. Rubinos kept the crowd jamming and moving to her beats as she threw her voice and body around the stage with contagious and endless energy; she could dance to her own heartbeat. If I were braver this would have been the moment to clear a circle and let out every crazy dance move that the music moved me to, and some people did just that. At one point Rubinos commented to the midday “It feels like nighttime in my soul, that’s because y’all turned it up.”

The tracks from Rubinos’ two albums (Magic Trix and Black Terry Cat) exude positivity and empowerment, but she in no way shies away from tackling real social issues in her position as an artist with a platform that can reach masses, especially in standout track “See Them.”

By the end of the set, anyone who was still sitting joined in a standing ovation as the last track came to an end. Xenia Rubinos truly made a very grey day colorful in one of my favorite performances of the day.

Setlist
Romeo
Lonely Lover
Help
Don’t Wanna Be
See Them
Cherry Tree
Mexican Chef