Corbin – Turf Club – St. Paul MN – May 10th 2025

First Avenue presents Corbin live at The Turf Club on May 10th 2025

Review and photos by Max Trelstad

When it was finally time for the headlining set to begin, Corbin stepped on stage alongside his two person backing band, comprised of two guitarists that also worked the digital production side of the performance throughout. The crowd roared after he waved shyly to greet his hometown fans, and he began his first performance in Minnesota in over half a decade.

As it was my first time seeing him live, I was shocked at how well his vocals translated live. Very few smaller scale live Rap/R&B performances I’ve seen use live musicians instead of backing tracks, and it made a huge difference in the experience of listening to Corbin sing live. His vocals were soft and crooning, and just loud enough to be heard over the somber melodies being played behind his voice. Over the course of the night he played songs from all 4 of his LPs/Mixtapes, including his oldest music from when he used to perform under the stage name Spooky Black.

I was shocked at the fact that barely any fans in the crowed were recording his set, since it seems every time I shoot a sold out rap show there is a sea of phones. Just that small change made a huge difference in the show atmosphere; I could tell from song to song that every person in the room was connecting with the performance on a more personal level, willing to experience the music flowing from the speakers with only their ears and eyes.