‘Moment I’ve been waiting for’: Sacramento R&B singer Yelly comes home for ‘mini tour’ stop
Sacramento R&B singer Yelly is going on a “mini tour” with special guests, and announced that she’ll soon be coming to her hometown to perform.
The 21-year-old singer, born Danielle Scales, will be in midtown Sacramento on Sept. 30, performing at Harlow’s for her “Don’t Drown 2” Mini Tour.
Yelly released her EP “Don’t Drown 2” in July. She told The Sacramento Bee that it reflects a period of growth in her life where she’s “learning to float above waters instead of sinking too deep.”
“A lot of times as people we can get into these deep waters where we feel like we’re drowning because … different things we go through in life,” she said.
The local kid who was raised in Rancho Cordova’s Lincoln Village area is growing up, and the project touches on her beginning to figure life out as she navigates a healthy balance between her career, relationships, family and friends.
The EP features Yelly’s single, “Casamigos.” In it, she sings: “I gotta get that money, grind. Gotta take care of family time.”
In that song, she sings, “I gotta get that money, grind. Gotta take care of family time.”
She said she feels like she’s growing in her music, particularly from a songwriting perspective. It’s an area she takes seriously, as she’s adamant on being “an artist that writes her music.”
The Sacramento native grew up performing. By the age of 6, she was already singing in talent shows and doing spoken word at poetry slams.
“I have so much gratitude for the space that I’m in because…how many years I’ve been at it,” Yelly said. “Just the level of growth in my music, you can hear it in this project … just my songwriting skills in general have evolved.”
In 2022, she performed at Sol Blume, a growing R&B festival at Sacramento’s Discovery Park.
Although she’s been back to perform in Sacramento since then, she said this tour would be special because it is her first one as the headliner.
“One thing, I love performance. I love putting on a live show. And now that this is my mini tour, this is the moment I’ve been waiting for and praying for,” Yelly said.
“I want this to be an experience that my fans, my support, my family and friends never forget. I want them to always think back to Yelly’s first mini tour and be like, ‘That was a show, that was an experience.’”
Special guests in the lineup for the 8 p.m. Sept. 30 show include Diamond Johnson, Zahirah, DCMBR and Micah La Rae. Sacramento native Gritty Lex, who is currently touring with Baltimore rapper Shordie Shordie, will also join Yelly, days after performing at Harlow’s on Tuesday.
“The set list is intricately laid out,” Yelly said. “My fans are gonna get some older music and they’re gonna get some of my newer stuff. It’s gonna be a great time overall.”
Other performances on the mini tour include San Francisco’s Brick & Mortar Music Hall on Oct. 1 followed by an Oct. 8 stop at the Mint in Los Angeles.
Tickets for the Sacramento show are available on Eventbrite, starting at $15 and increasing to $18 the day of the show. Tickets for a meet-and-greet with Yelly are $30.