NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
As an introvert, there are some weeks where I just don’t want to get out to concerts. Even though being in a large crowd can be a very lonely experience, it’s sometimes nice to just have fewer people around. During the last week of February, I skipped full shows and stopped by the Paste Studio for a few sessions.
On Monday, I went to see pop singer/songwriter Phoebe Ryan. The bubbly Ryan had just wrapped up a tour with K-pop artist Eric Nam before stopping by the Paste Studio. She shared a couple of songs from her upcoming debut album “How It Used to Feel”.
You can check out her Paste session here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZruXN0Pm0_g
Click on photos to enlarge
I then spent the full day at Paste starting with Anna Akana, the YouTube sensation, who seems to have a hand in just about everything these days including acting, writing books, and designing clothing. She performed songs from her record “Casualty”, which came out in October 2019.
Akana’s session at Paste can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56HX2VgHQOs
Click on photos to enlarge
Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Emily King provided some incredible vocals for the mid-afternoon session at Paste. Born and raised on the lower east side of New York City, King moved back to the LES last year after “trying out” life in LA and the Catskills. While living in different locations definitely provide different inspirations, New York is still home. Her latest record “Sides” is a collection of acoustic interpretations of her previous songs; the performance of these songs make her Paste session feel even more intimate than just the size of the space.
Watch King’s performance here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a14duOSsCpE
Click on photos to enlarge
To close out the afternoon at Paste, we went from the soothing vocals of Emily King to the dynamic energy of Magic Giant. The difference in the two obviously did not detract from their respective admiration for each others’ talents.
Indie folk band Magic Giant is so chock full of personality that they could hardly be contained in the small room that is Paste Studio. They have a new record coming out this year and have been performing their new songs and tweaking them as they tour. After doing a wonderful acoustic version of “Disaster Party”, they surprised everyone (and maybe even themselves) by closing out the set with their other live high energy version. I think you can’t have a party, even a disaster party, without that crazy fun energy!
Besides their spring tour dates, their third annual Camp Misfits will occur September 24-27 in the woods of Mendocino, CA. Check out their Paste session here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUlJlqzPmhA
Click on photos to enlarge
