Gardner was filled with the sounds of innovative R&B when Sunni Colón and Gallant performed on Friday, Sept. 18. Sunni Colón started off the night with a set of his smooth, minimalist R&B. Although Colón’s sensual R&B is comparable to artists such as Frank Ocean, his humorous and charismatic performance style sets him apart. He doesn’t take himself to seriously on stage and engages with the audience. When Colón’s set was over, he wasn’t ready to leave the stage so decided to perform his song “Water” again, even though he had performed it earlier in his set. He was so excited by the high-energy audience in Gardner on Friday that he kept saying, “Bring me back! I want to play here again!” Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of Sunni Colón.

Gallant brought something totally different to Gardner. His performance was highly professional, glossy and technically impressive. Jaws dropped as his falsetto rang out over the sounds of his band. He mostly worked his way chronologically through his music, beginning with songs from his EP and ending with his three most recent singles, as if to say, this is my career thus far, but it’s only just beginning. When he performed his final song and most recent single “Weight in Gold,” the audience shouted along and pulsated to its heavy beats. Gallant made it very clear: he has arrived.