SHOW REVIEW: Tiny Habits
Photo by Alicia Urrea
EL REY THEATRE | LOS ANGELES, CA | MARCH 16, 2023 | BY ALICIA URREA
There’s a simple cliché that I could utilize in order to capture all of my thoughts about this show: I witnessed angels singing. Three voices melting together as if they were beckoning you to enter the gates of nirvana, where everything is tranquil and blissful.
That’s essentially what occurred on the night of March 16th. The folk-pop trio named Tiny Habits – consisting of members Maya Rae, Judah Mayowa, and Cinya Khan – have embarked on their first headline North American tour, selling out the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California. They’ve been pretty occupied on the road recently having supported pop artist Gracie Abrams on her Good Riddance tour, as well as joining fellow folk-pop artist Noah Kahan on the Stick Season tour for the European leg. I had attended Abrams’ Good Riddance tour, which led to my discovery of Tiny Habits. I became enamored with them from the moment their opening set began; it was the first and only time I had seen them live, so I was extremely excited to hear that they would be returning to Los Angeles on their own headlining tour.
As the lights dimmed and three silhouettes emerged onto the stage, gentle cheers and claps erupted from the crowd. With a small band behind them, they began their set with an angelic intro that included finger-style chord progressions and alluring harmonies. It was a beautiful segway into the first track on their setlist, titled “Circling.” All three members stood symmetrically on stage; Maya stood on stage left and Cinya stood on stage right, with Judah in between the both of them. Cinya had been playing an acoustic guitar all while singing her own verses and harmonizing alongside the two, which did not go unnoticed after a couple of songs. During the first speech of the night, Maya mentioned that she was playing an instrument while singing for the first time on this tour. She specified its difficulty with a keyboard placed in front of her, praising Cinya and garnering applause and cheers from everyone.
This was a perfect transition into a small segment of the show where each member individually performed their own original song. Maya went first with her composition titled “Broken,” while Judah followed with his piece called “Planting Flowers.” Because these songs are unreleased, the entire venue was completely silent; everyone seemed to be absorbing every note and every tender lyric that was sung. It was so quiet to the extent that a sneeze was heard toward the back of the crowd, to which Cinya said, “Bless you.” A collective laugh erupted from the audience, but simmered shortly after to allow Cinya to begin playing her individual track titled “Malleable.”
Despite a brief lull of audience noise for the duration of unreleased songs that were performed (including newer tracks like “Flicker” and “I Don’t Have the Heart”), there were plenty of covers that were included on the setlist. The first was Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?”, an amazing ballad that complimented all of their voices so well. The hushed vocal sequence and the gentle piano chords were perfect for the group to cover. A flood of pink lights showered the stage, basking the audience and Tiny Habits in a hue of rose. They also went on to play “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane, and “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac later on in their set. The crowd knew all the words to these songs, which made the trio all the more excited to continue with their songs, beaming on the stage.
Right before the encore, Maya expressed appreciation on the entire band’s behalf for this memorable, milestone of a night. She mentioned just how crazy it was that they were in the position they were standing in having been opening up for artists just a year ago, and playing The Troubadour last year to selling out El Rey. She broke the news that the song they were about to perform was their ‘last’ one, using air quotes as she spoke. They walked off stage briefly, returning for some fan favorites, one called “pennies” and another called “tiny things.”
The performance of “pennies” was definitely my favorite, because of how sentimental it seemed. It was one of the group’s first releases having met in college, and it was released in its rawest form: as a voice memo. The performance reflected that pureness, as it was completely stripped-down to the group’s harmonies and Cinya’s acoustic guitar. The crowd sang along to the emotional lyrics, careful to be on the quieter side to allow for a calmer, ambient space: “Why is it all on your terms it hurts me / Making me think I’m worth less than pennies.”
Fans reciprocated their appreciation during “tiny things,” holding up small red paper hearts. Maya stopped mid-verse to shout, “Thank you!”
With a group hug to conclude the show, it was truly unlike any show I’d ever been to before. Looking out into the crowd, I hardly noticed any phones in the air, or side conversations taking place. Everyone was very much in the moment, soaking up such angelic vocals and amazing lyricism.
Genuinely, Tiny Habits are so talented — every single one of them. Individually, they are gifted with such euphoric voices and strong songwriting skills that are only enhanced when they are brought together. To take it one step further, that talent is amplified even more when brought to the stage. If it is ever announced that the group is on tour once more, it’s worth the while to attend one of their shows.