By Natalie Lanza, KCR Contributor

Grammy Award-winning Ryan Beatty took to The Observatory North Park’s stage on September 15. Following the success of his 2026 album Sweet Fortune, Beatty announced his Arms Over Armor tour. Beginning the North American leg of the tour earlier this September, Beatty’s performance at The Observatory North Park marks his fifth stop. It also marks Beatty’s first performance in San Diego since March 2019, at the House of Blues.

When Ryan Beatty last performed in San Diego, he was best known for his debut album Boy in Jeans, his previous work with Brockhampton on hits such as QUEER and BLEACH, his collaboration with Tyler, the Creator on his EP Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss‘ The Grinch, or for his childhood YouTube channel where he covered songs. Now, Beatty has established himself as a force-to-be-reckoned-with singer songwriter, occupying a unique space that blends alternative R&B, alt-pop, indie-pop and indie folk. His third and fourth studio albums, Calico and Sweet Fortune, bring him deeper into the indie folk and alt-pop space. Additionally, Beatty’s songwriting credits on the Grammy-award winning Cowboy Carter album by Beyoncé further cement Beatty as a songwriting powerhouse.

Acting as his opener, the lovely Girlsweetvoiced performed an intimate collection of songs off her debut album, Lovesweet, mixing in the occasional single. Girlsweetvoiced’s performance focuses on soft, airy vocals, a stripped-back guitar and occasional crowd work. During one instance of crowd work, Girlsweetvoiced contextualized her supporting act as her first time on tour. She also admitted that it marked one of few times she had left her home country of Canada. Previously, I was unfamiliar with Girlsweetvoiced, but her performance pleasantly surprised me. It was calming and sweet, like a bowl of candy on a table in the hallway of your grandmother’s home. 

Beatty kicked off his performance with the dynamic, careful folding of a paper airplane, modeling the lead imagery from his Secret Language music video. The crowd ecstatically caught the airplane. The setlist emphasized Beatty’s charming stage presence and beautiful vocals, taking the audience predominantly through his two most recent projects, Calico and Sweet Fortune. Splitting his time between serenading the audience from a seat, standing and dancing along, and casually interacting with the crowd, Beatty performed hits such as Secret Language, Cinnamon Bread and White Lightning before transitioning into Bright Red and Sweet Fortune. 

As he began his performance of Too Many Ways from the album Sweet Fortune, an organized fan project took over, featuring small pink and red hearts covering crowd members’ iPhone flashlights. Fans passionately sang along to the words in unison, remarking that they’ve “got a life in California” but also “a man in Massachusetts who comes to see [them] when he can.” In the dim, intimate setting of The Observatory North Park, the fan project shone brightly and Beatty thanked the crowd for the kindness.

Moving forward with his set, Beatty performed other songs such as Ribbons, Virtuoso, Annie, Anything and Phantom before transitioning into the final parts of his setlist. Draped in warm lighting, he performed the last few songs, with Bruises Off The Peach and Fleur De Lis being clear fan favorites.

Ryan Beatty’s show was beautiful and intimate, focusing on his charming personality, gut-wrenching lyrics and sickeningly-sweet vocals. I truly was charmed by the show. Ryan Beatty, alongside his opener Girlsweetvoiced, put on a fabulous show. I cannot recommend catching a future performance of his enough. I would like to thank Live Nation and KCR College Radio for the wonderful opportunity to cover this event. It was truly beautiful!