Words and images by Brian Kinnes
I flew to New York City from Portland, Oregon and slept on a complete stranger’s floor to see kids from the internet play music.
When I saw the announcement for No Ceilings 6 with three of my favorite artists, Kevin Abstract, London O’Connor, and Allan Kingdom, I knew I had to go. I had always wanted to go to New York City. It’s the setting of endless movies and TV shows, the land of skyscrapers and important people. When you live so far away it feels like it might not even exist in real life.
I wanted to spend my hard earned money on this trip because I knew it would be an amazing experience. I wanted to see the city, I wanted to meet new people, I wanted to take pictures, and I knew I had to go to No Ceilings.
Before I could buy my plane tickets I had to get a place to stay, so I looked to Twitter. London O’Connor tweeted asking if anyone could give me a couch to sleep on for a couple nights. I was immediately met with multiple offers, I ended up staying with my new friend Santangelo in Brooklyn. My mom wasn’t a huge fan of my plan to stay with a stranger. Eventually I convinced her it would be okay, even though I was nervous myself. I knew I’d be safe, but I wasn’t sure if it would be awkward or if we would get along. We ended up becoming great friends.
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My first day in NYC was overwhelming. I met Santangelo, who took me to Manhattan where I met Tyler Mitchell, one of my favorite photographers. Then we met up with London O’Connor. Meeting London was a special experience, I immediately felt the most positive energy coming from him. He radiates joy and friendliness just like you would expect if you follow him and listen to his music.
Later that evening in SoHo we met up with Brockhampton and Allan Kingdom in the upper room of Billionaire Boys Club. Allan introduced himself like I may have not known who he was, like he wasn’t just overseas on stage with Kanye West not many months ago. Kevin knew who I was and immediately grabbed his friends Titus, Romil and Matt Champion to introduce me as the fan that flew across the country to see them. I was able to hang out with Brockhampton and everyone else for the rest of the night. That’s something that will stay with me for a long time.
Meeting these kids I’ve followed so closely for so long was a surreal experience. I was hanging out with my idols, who have inspired me infinitely and influenced me in everything I create. To see the person behind the screen, to see them IRL, is a crazy thing.
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My second day in New York was the day of the concert. I started the day by ditching Santangelo at his school orientation, opting to explore Manhattan and SoHo by myself. After getting coffee and deciding not to wait in line at Supreme, I took the subway back to Brooklyn to watch sound checks at the venue before the concert.
I had been imagining everyone’s performances in my head for weeks leading up to that day and it still blew me away. Concerts have always been one of my favorite things, seeing an artist perform their music is something that can never be translated or explained. Seeing these artists perform songs I’ve listened to so much and connected with so heavily is something I’ll never forget.
In the three days I spent in New York I met so many people that mean so much to me. It was amazing how easy it was to connect with those who I met and how many close bonds I formed in such a short time.
The night before I left NYC I couldn’t sleep and ended up just watching cars drive by out the window until two or three in the morning. Reflecting on the trip then, it was amazing to me that I even met these kids who I’ve looked up to for such a long time. Even more importantly, I can now call them my friends.
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