Ambar Lucid Live in Santa Ana

Lucid originates from the root word lūcidus, meaning bright or shining; this truly is a spot on word to describe not only Ambar, but the performance she put on in Santa Ana. To someone who hasn’t seen her live before, she puts on quite the first impression (demonstrated by these photos). From the joy she’s shown in her performance to the moments she shared with her audience, it was certainly a night to remember for everyone at the Observatory. To cap it all off, I got some words from Ambar herself.

Dominican-Mexican singer-songwriter Ambar Lucid makes music that intertwines Spanish and English in a way that fuses the two linguistic worlds into a single language that communicates with the soul. She tells me that, “The goal is for people to listen to the music and feel closer to themselves, feel more aligned with the universe. ... I feel like music is divination and as long as people find some sort of healing ... or positive experience from the music, that’s what really matters the most at the end of the day”. Ambar Lucid and her co-headliner, Mayé, are on their “Entre Dos Mundos” 2026 tour, a fitting name for the blending of their two worlds into a single entrancing concert experience.

From what I’ve read, Ambar is no stranger to tarot and has a song inspired by one of the cards called “Ms.Moon”. There’s a particular lyric in the song where she sings, “I was singing to the moon, she likes to comfort me”; when I heard it, it sparked an idea. The light was already hitting her in a way that mimicked the moonlight, so I took this picture using the spotlight above her as a prop. It looked as if she was singing to Ms. Moon at this very moment. Whoever was in charge of lighting at the Observatory deserves an award.

There were so many great moments during Ambar’s set that it was tough choosing which ones I wanted to showcase in this article. Her telling me what her current favorite song to perform made it a bit easier. She told me, “...it’s been really fun performing ‘Get Lost in the Music’. That ones an old song, but it’s super fun. Like, it goes crazy. I love flipping my hair at the end.” Evidently, there was a lot of hair flipping. She looked so free-spirited and in the moment and it’s very clear why she loves doing this song. If you don’t show you’re having a great time performing, what would that mean for your audience? Aside from that, I’m always excited to catch some dancing during concerts, so this shot was a no brainer. 

I asked Ambar what some of her pre-show rituals were, and she said, “I like to do my hair and makeup. Focusing on some self-care just makes me feel grounded with myself ... and taking a few deep breaths ... I just like to make sure that I have some time to myself, even if it’s like 10 to 15 minutes to feel good in myself”. Her routine definitely showed how much that works for her during her performance. There were a couple of moments of repose during her set, but the one after “Get Lost in the Music” was my favorite. She looked so calm and centered, not a nervous bone in her body, despite the hundreds of eyes all on her. Not to mention she just got done with all the head spinning and twirling on stage.

My favorite thing that artists do with their fans is grab their phone during their set and record themselves up close. The amount of happiness from that must be immense (I’m still waiting for my turn). Ambar did it during one of her most popular songs, “Fantasmas”. She surely created a core memory for that fan, and you can see it in their face. I hope they see this article and photo because I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to capture such a sweet moment.

Some words from the artist:

To any artists who are just starting out or any current musicians who are struggling to keep themselves motivated, do you have any advice or words of wisdom to pass on?

“...the most important thing is that you have fun doing it because, you know, it’s music. It’s art. It’s supposed to be fun and it’s really important to stay connected to your passion for it. I feel like staying grounded and also being gentle with yourself; there are a lot of bumps in the road and things go unexpected, sometimes more often than not. So just really staying connected with yourself and your love for it and realizing that there’s a bigger purpose. Like even outside of you, you know, music is healing. It’s supposed to be healing for you. It’s supposed to be healing for the audience. So it’s important to stay connected to that when things, you know, are difficult.”

Fun fact from the artist:

When asked about her guilty pleasure songs or anything on constant repeat: “I think for me, my guilty pleasure has been like old Katy Perry, like from the 2010s. The One That Got Away, Hot and Cold, California Girls, that era”

Written and photographed by Richardesque