On Sept. 7, the Play Series at Soho House NYC featured multi-faceted artist Morgan Saint, who played old favorites and new releases. Her mellow voice, star power, and style captivated the crowd.
After a nearly four-year hiatus from releasing music and performing, the singer-songwriter, producer, and all-around-creative Morgan Saint put on a striking show for the Soho House Play Series in NYC on Sept. 7.
Saint, a New York native, is a natural at entertaining. Seemingly singing to every crowd member individually, she blessed them with her mesmerizing, ethereal voice. The artist genuinely appeared to be having the time of her life. She moved through the venue and entertained the camera with the charisma of a veteran performer. The artist’s glowy skin and sleek hair contrast her low-rise pants and shoulder pads– a signature look of Saint’s. She looked like a sporty angel.
“You,” a song from her 2017 debut Ep 17 Hero, was a crowd favorite. The cool-blue stage lighting perfectly complemented the song’s melody and Saint’s movements. People from all age groups sang along to Saint’s every word. The poignant, synthy song amassed nearly 12 million streams on Spotify, and its music video garnered 1.7 million streams on YouTube.
Saint granted the crowd an early listen to her new self-produced song, “It Hurts To Be Human.” The song and its accompanying music video dropped on Sept. 8. Saint and her wife, Carley Ridersleeve, directed the new music video, and Saint styled it. She describes working with her wife as “a dream” but a “very stressful” one at times. “I have a feeling we’ll look back on these moments with a lot of warmth,” she said.
Another newer song from Saint’s Soho House show was “Did You Lose Your Heart.” It was released in July of this summer, along with the music video, also directed by Ridersleeve and herself. The song is particularly expressive, with lyrics like, “You’re cold to the touch, no color left on your face…Am I too late?”
“It was important for me to take a step inward to understand myself on a deeper level, surround myself with the most loving energy, and hone in on my skills as a writer and producer.”
At the sweet spot between catchy pop and emotional ballads lies Saint’s music. She once described Hero as “moody pop,” which holds true with her newer music. Her lyrics are vulnerable, accompanied by a dance-able instrumental.
Saint spent her performing hiatus finding herself as an artist and playing around with new sounds. “It was important for me to take a step inward to understand myself on a deeper level, surround myself with the most loving energy, and hone in on my skills as a writer and producer,” she said. “I’ve been able to make this body of work in my own space with my own gear, flowing directly from me without anything in the way,” said Saint.
Since she and her wife wrote, engineered, and produced everything themselves with her own equipment, Saint put care into every detail. The process has been a “labor of love,” as Saint describes it. She hopes people feel that love through the music.
Her music is more powerful and personal than ever. Saint fans, new and old, have a lot to anticipate.
