Judith Live in Santa Ana

Have you guys heard that saying, “Get your OG fan ticket before they’re famous” or any variation of the sort? It’s like saying you got to discover an artist before the masses took ahold of them. I feel like that’s happened to me a number of times, and this one is going to be no different. From Judith’s up-beat, bubbly personality to her strong stage presence as she sings, she’s so much fun to watch. My only complaint is that there were a number of songs I’d love to listen to from the show, but they’re currently unreleased, and it’s driving me crazy. Talk about a teaser.

Judith is a Los Angeles based artist making infectious latin alt-pop music that gets you on the dance floor. Having covers on Tiktok dating back from 2020 to one of her first official releases of her original music in 2021, she’s been gaining momentum within the music scene. Today, she’s been opening for the popular latin artists Mayé and Ambar Lucid on their “Entre los Dos” tour, garnering thousands of fans nationwide.

From the get-go, Judith popped off on stage with a ton of energy during her opener, “no me gusta eso”, and she wasted no time taking laps around the stage; I had to really work for these photos. Not to say it’s a bad thing, I love when artists do that and take full advantage of the space available to them; it’s really fun to watch. I was able to snap this photo right before she ran off and I love the expression on her face. It shows how much she’s been waiting for this moment.

I really appreciate how artists transition from song to song in their set lists, kind of like when you set those cool crossfades on your music playlists (or is that just me?). I got that same feeling when Judith went from “ugh!”, a darker toned track, into the more up-beat pop song “Heather”. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love when artists seamlessly swap the vibes of their shows. I knew she had varying types of music and I wanted to make sure I caught that contrast on camera.

This is the moment where I found my new favorite song of Judith’s. The way she performed “Dame Love”, as if she was pouring her heart out to the audience, really sold the song for me. For such an emotionally charged, heartfelt song to make me forget I was just dancing my ass off a couple songs ago was crazy. I went to my car that night excited to play the song, only to find out it isn’t out anywhere; I was devastated.

Gotta have the essential wide shot when shooting concert photography; high angle wide shots on the other hand, are pretty tough for the vertically challenged. I really wanted to showcase the entire stage and audience in action. Lucky for me, this venue had a balcony for VIP tables, and they gave me access to the area. Using this to my advantage, I took some cool shots of Judith at the end of her song “Tusi”, her newly released single and a banger of a dance track.

Judith is someone to keep an eye on. Not only does she have an amazing voice, she has the stage presence to back that up. Like, she performs as if she’s been doing it forever and knows how to grasp her audience’s attention. I had the benefit of talking with her after the show to get some insight on how she centers herself, as well as the performance she just finished.

Written and photographed by Richardesque