R&B N Arts First Friday Festival FEB 2025

I got invited to First Friday with an old acquaintance from college which was so exciting!! I have no one but my parents here and I appreciate their love and support, but I'm happy to spend time with someone my age who is also an incredibly enchanting woman.

Driving and Parking in Atlanta are by far the worse things about it. SO ANXIETY INDUCING! I had to pay $40 to park and then they led me everywhere and made me go in circles I was sooo embarrassed. Waited for my friend for a bit and just let the anxiety increase. Being in a new environment can be so taxing cause you have to process everything. Comparing your outfit to everyone else's, having to figure out where to walk to, the mortifying ordeal of being perceived. But if I already wasted the gas I might as well follow through, right?

Once my friend arrived, we collected compliments as we floated around the event (which was an extra $15 ticket even though we rsvped for free. (It's our fault for not arriving earlier than 10pm LOL I just like to complain)

The underground Atlanta venue has multiple clubs within, common areas, shops, and is somehow simultaneously indoors and outdoors. the music definitely booms throughout but you can get out of it if it's overwhelming. There were karaoke and music performances, but I wouldn't call all the performances r&b. We only attended a show where a bunch of men squirted neon paint onto girls twerking with I assume the group's music in the background? And they all had neon ski masks on. It was like yn afro beats. The creative direction left something to be desired truthfully. Practically made the crowd disappear. I missed the section where a live band was playing and I would've much preferred to watch that. 

As we perused through the art portion I had some lovely conversations with the artists and asked about their creative process. Notable artists IMO: @artmusicmaryjane, @artbymorgz, and @the_ladypai (Instagram handles). I bought a print by The Lady Pai titled "Adored"! Hers were so entrancing to me. She had a way of capturing feminity and beauty without needing to resort to sexuality which I really appreciate.

A surprising aspect to me was the availability of shrooms along with homemade weed/liquor products. I've had my fair share of drugs but usually you have to have a plug, drive somewhere shady, or meet a strange man and hope he doesn't want to have sex with you. It was just so jarring! I lived in DC prior which is often titled "the drug capitol of the world" but things more than weed were not as accessible and in the open. Or maybe I was in the wrong places! We got edibles and a pre-roll btw

We eventually stumbled into a speakeasy/burlesque show. My favorite clubs are speakeasies I'm pretty sure. The secrecy and alluring vibe makes for people who actually like dancing and aren't posing for social media. Love that! The burlesque show was a preview for their next one that you have to pay for. I've been slightly interested in burlesque dancing classes for a while now so I'm happy that experience was available. The first dancer was my favorite and was quite entrancing. She was a black woman with a bright red lip, tattoos, and pink feathers. Let's just say I was in love. She walked through the crowd and we got to have cute little moments. There were no pictures allowed but catcalling was. A truly underground free-speech experience where both the audience and the performers had a mutual agreement to respect and enjoy beauty. 

I got a grilled cheese from the speakeasy that was quite delicious actually. Didn't drink. 

All-in-all I had a pretty good time but it was a bit overwhelming. Definitely need an outdoor experience for my next outing.