“Bring your guitars,” alternative rockstar Keshi wrote on social media last week, inviting fans to stop by Washington Square Park for a free meet and greet on July 22.
Washington Square Park has become synonymous with surprise performances from musicians like Lorde and appearances from celebrities such as Mark Lee of NCT 127 and Timothée Chalamet during look-alike contests. So, when Keshi, known for his alternative, lo-fi, R&B, and pop music, invited fans to meet him at Washington Square Park at 1 pm ahead of his Madison Square Garden concert on July 24, he was not anticipating well over 600 people to attend.
“Seeing just how many people turned out was an insane moment for me. To be honest, I thought that only a hundred or so people would show up, and I was mistaken in the best way. Seeing the army of a crowd migrating from Washington Square Park to the coffee shop was the most surreal part. It felt like we were caught in the middle of a jam-packed marathon,” Keshi told amNewYork.
The humble rockstar simply planned on having an intimate experience with what he thought would be about a hundred or so fans, telling them to bring their guitars and anything they wanted him to sign. However, when hordes lined the parkland from MacDougal St. all the way to the iconic fountain, he had to divert the crowd to a safer location (and to avoid a ticket from New York City Parks for not having a permit for such a large gathering).
Writing “holy fxck so many of y’all showed up we have to move a lil bit so sry! I’ll meet yall at Joe Coffee :)” on his Instagram, Keshi managed to divert the enthusiasts just four blocks away from their original meeting location at MacDougal St. to Joe Coffee at 550 LaGuardia Place.
Sitting outside of the quaint coffee shop beneath the sweltering sun, Keshi smiled brightly, waving to his adoring fans. Keshi is known to be a down-to-earth artist, both humbled by his stardom and candid about himself; however, the meet-and-greet further solidified him as a man of the people. Someone who, instead of trying to monetize his relations with those who find solace in music, wanted to directly reach out to them and foster their dreams of becoming artists themselves.
Alysa Ngo, Kelly Qui, and their fellow classmates from UCLA flew in from California just to visit New York City for business; however, mere hours before their flight back to Los Angeles, they saw Keshi’s social media post about the meet-and-greet. With nothing but the items they were set to bring on the airplane, they rushed to Washington Square Park to meet their musical hero.
“Kelly’s been a big fan of Keshi’s since she was in sixth grade,” Ngo said pointedly, staring at her friend. “This was really important to her. We ran here.”
“It’s really touching. Like real sh*t. It’s really, really touching. A lot of artists don’t do this nowadays. So, like the fact that he’s just taking out his time to really uplift his fans, like people who support him, means a lot to us,” Ngo said candidly.
For college students like Oliva Zhou, 19, and Aiden Chen, 19, who can’t always afford to purchase ultimate VIP experiences, a free meet-and-greet with their favorite artist, whom they’ve adored for years, was a dream come true.
“Both of us have been following him since late 2019, so we’ve been big fans for years. Lowkey, we’re both broke college students, so we don’t have money for VIP or anything. So, the fact that he’s doing this for free means a lot to us. Means a lot to me,” Zhou shared.
“Thank you for getting me through the past four years. Because he’s an artist, I constantly look for when I need to listen to music that I want to relate to or to confide in,” Zhou added.
For over two hours, Keshi signed memorabilia, briefly chatted about music and their dreams, autographed their guitars and artwork, and took selfies with fans. The line to meet him wrapped around almost two blocks, and while he didn’t get to meet all of his supporters that day, it highlighted the sheer impact Keshi’s music has had on people.
From Oncology nurse to global star, Keshi has showcased what it means to follow your dream no matter what. For fans like Ryan Gillis, 27, who traveled from Upstate New York, meeting the man who inspired his own artwork was a core memory.
“I’m a really big fan of his music. I’m an artist myself. He inspires a lot of the stuff that I make. So, you know, I wanted to get this signed and then frame it on my wall and just use it as a source of inspiration,” Gillis said, holding up Keshi’s Requiem LP. “I just like the tone of his voice, the lyrics, the guitar, just the production. I don’t know how to explain it.”
The next stop on Keshi’s Requim World Tour will be Atlanta, GA on Aug. 2 and then his hometown of Houston, Texas on Aug. 4.
