The Creative Cosmos of Orion Sun
Image description: Orion Sun sings out into the crowd, microphone in hand, illuminated by smoke and pink lighting.
Thrifted denim worn. Silverlake bangles jangled. Scuffed Doc Martens tied. Artsy college students from every nook and cranny of UCLA adorned their finest attire for what felt like the culminating event of the year – something akin to the Golden Age’s culminating ball of the season – the Hammer Arts Party. An annual spring event designed for college students across Southern California, the Arts Party hosted by the Hammer Museum features live music, art-making workshops and after-hours access to galleries. This year, Westwood was lucky enough to host DJ Starrza and headliner Orion Sun!
Jersey-born, Philly-bred, LA-based artist Orion Sun seamlessly integrates her R&B, indie neo-soul sound with themes of healing, self-discovery and nature. Orion Sun cites this genre-bending sound and musical identity to musical greats Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, and Billie Holiday and singing in church. She is a self-proclaimed spiritual artist who “becomes through music”, evidently so. For this reason, I was eagerly anticipating seeing Orion Sun live, but not without first combing through the rest of what the Hammer Arts Party had to offer.
Our very own FEM NewsMagazine tabled alongside UCLA’s Pan-Afrikan magazine NOMMO, UCLA Campus Events Commission, and the Student Committee for the Arts in a celebration and reignition of art and creativity. With spin-the-wheels for custom shot glasses, impromptu dance battles and quirky conversation starters scattered across tables (no really, tell me the most shameful thing in your 8th grade search history), UCLA’s student organizations certainly proved their collective appreciation for the arts that night.
After chugging a complementary blackberry sparkling iced tea and taking photobooth pictures with my fellow FEM members, I peeked through the exhibitions on view as DJ Starzza played her set. Her hot-pink braids, effortless mixing indie-pop and juggling synth beats kept the room in a trance, no easy feat for college students with attention spans carefully attuned to 10-second Tiktoks. Having previously played at Jhene Aiko’s Magic Hour arena tour and a multitude of LA’s hottest venues (Boiler Room LA, The Melrose House, Black Market Flea), it comes as no surprise she was able to captivate the Hammer Arts Museum. DJ Starzza curated the ideal atmosphere to dreamily sway downstairs, create a watercolor self portrait upstairs and walk through the five exhibitions on view. This included HEAD FOR THE HILLS! Selections from the Grunwald Center and Hammer Contemporary Collection and my personal favorite, Alice Coltrane: Monumental Eternal. The exhibit honored the spiritual transcendence, sonic innovations and devotional teachings of late jazz musician Alice Coltrane; very fitting for a spiritual artist like Orion Sun to perform.
And as the clock ticked to 8:30, a quiet hush fell over the room as attendees rushed to take their places, as per unspoken pre-concert ritual. (Yes, bangles still jangling.)
Image description: Orion Sun turns to face another part of the crowd, hand raised towards the audience while signing Antidote.
Orion Sun kicked off her hour long set with a fan favorite, “Antidote”, the second track off of her 2020 album, A Collection of Fleeting Moments and Daydreams. “Sharing secrets, I promise I’ll keep them / Let’s just stay inside my vehicle / I can drive wherever, let’s go / Your smile is my antidote.” True to the album name, the nostalgic lyrics convey a dreamlike, idyllic love in which a lover’s smile represents escapism and healing. Attendees leaning on each other and clumsily swaying back and forth, hazy blueish purple light washing over the museum, and Orion’s very own beaming, antidotal smile made for a more-than-satisfactory intro for diehard Orion fans, casual listeners and newcomers alike.
She followed it with “Space Jam – An Odyssey,” a more upbeat indie R&B track. “Don’t forget it / Or you’ll miss out on blessings / And you’ll be a witness to my evanescence / And my presence won’t be in your present / And how you act is adolescent.” It was the perfect return to reality as I found myself hypnotized by Orion Sun’s dreamlike sonic universe. And up next was my personal favorite, “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me) off her 2020 album, Hold Space For Me. It’s a love song in its purest form, a repetitive chant (“It feels so good to know you”) atop lulling neo-soul production.
Orion Sun then sang “Intro” off of her 2022 album Getaway; she had the Palestinian flag wrapped around her and exclaimed “FREE PALESTINE!” mid-bridge. This struck a particular chord for myself and other students. The Hammer Arts Party served as a stark reminder of the beginning of the pro-Palestine encampments in Royce Hall, which fell exactly one year prior. Over the course of one week, more than 44,000 students gathered last year in a space of education and healing. They demanded that the UCs divest from institutions that are complicit in the Israeli occupation, apartheid, and genocide of the Palestinian people. Students persevered through violent counter protestors, an LAPD siege, media sensationalization and attempted institutional oppression of the truth. It carried a legacy of resistance that must prevail, for all humanitarian aid (food, medicine) in Gaza has been blocked for the past two months and Palestinians continue to be met with relentless violence. Intentional or not, it was a meaningful moment commemorating the events on campus exactly one year prior and a reminder to keep advocating for unheard voices. With their spirits reignited, the crowd erupted in solidarity.
Following a collective sentimental pause was “Concrete”. This was my personal introduction into Orion Sun as a senior in high school scrolling through Spotify song suggestions in AP Lang. “Remember back then / We were burning through packs on the corner like some gargoyles laughing.” Following was “Sick” and “These Days,” both slow emotional tracks with production reminiscent of lofi hip-hop radio beats. “Smooth” from Hold Space For was next and complete with raw vocals, improvised guitar solos and stripped-back acoustics. Live music is my favorite because of one-of-a-kind moments like these. Sun then sang, “Coming Home,” “Valentine,” “Rather Be,” “Sweet,” continuing to interact with the crowd, who was just as hypnotized as I was. One of her last songs was, “dirty dancer,” the lead single of her project Getaway. Sun tells a classic tale of unrequited love and complicated feelings of inadequacy in a relationship amidst effervescent productions and catchy melodies. “I’m a dirty dancer / If only I could pull my pants up / I just wanna be the one you want to dance with.” Tender and vulnerable, “dirty dancer” was the perfect finale to a set dedicated to love, self-expression and spirituality.
Orion Sun’s artistry is tangible and her vulnerability is inspiring. Her identity as a queer Black woman and steadfast spiritualist bleeds into every lyric she writes and the creative cosmos she has created. When she performs live, she doesn’t just sing, she feels. With all its frills and fancies – contemporary art exhibits, a free photobooth, art-making workshops – the Hammer Arts Party was commanded by Orion Sun only. The Hammer Arts Party radiated with an unapologetic love for the arts because of the creativity, social justice, and shared understanding it lends us. It is to be protected, shared and celebrated. I firmly believe we have Orion Sun’s euphonious musical solar system to thank for that.
Image description: Students gathered in the crowd, awaiting the next performance. “ARTS PARTY” is illuminated onto one of the walls in the courtyard.
