GIVĒON gives San Francisco a soulful evening (with a sweet coat)

R&B is back… although it never really left. On the third stop of GIVĒON’s Dear Beloved Tour, nearly 8,500 San Francisco fans lined up around the block, eagerly awaiting to make it inside to Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for the sold-out show.

GIVĒON walked onto stage in a fur coat with a sleek black suit underneath.

A singular spotlight illuminated his figure, as he stood in front of a plain white curtain. The orchestral intro to “MUD” rang through the venue, with the soulful singer transitioning into the lead single off his 2025 album BELOVED, “RATHER BE”. The curtain fell at this time, revealing his band sitting underneath beautiful, pleated drapery. Simple stage production emphasized GIVĒON’s smooth baritone vocals as he serenaded the crowd, covering songs across his discography including “The Beach” off his 2020 EP TAKE TIME, his verse off of Drake’s “Chicago Freestyle:, and “dec 11” off of 2022 album Give or Take.

GIVĒON picked one lucky member from the audience, announcing he was going on a date — a bit he incorporates as part of the show structure. The white curtain returned, covering the entire stage and turned him and his date into silhouettes. The pair was shown dancing together and holding hands as he sang 2018 hit “Garden Kisses”.

GIVĒON’s vocals are undeniably strong…

On songs “KEEPER” and “STRANGERS” (both off his latest album), his emotions rang hard and true. The audience seemed to resonate heavily with his words and the music, because there wasn’t one moment where the crowd wasn’t singing along with the same conviction. GIVĒON fed into it, letting concert-goers finish lines of the song choruses.

The performance continued on with other recent hits like 2021’s “For Tonight” and 2025’s
“TWENTIES”, the latter accompanied with phone lights illuminating the entire venue. His encore was hit song “Heartbreak Anniversary”, closing out the night magically. Fans can’t wait for the next time GIVĒON returns to the Bay Area!

Photography by Sabrina Poei

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