By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Blessing Offor
There are two mid-week concerts in the area this week that will feature artists who are American citizens with international roots – Blessing Offor, who will perform in Philadelphia on February 17, and Paul Hernandez who will bring Katzù Oso to Ardmore on February 18.
Blessing Offor will headline a show at the Foundry at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, www.thefillmorephilly.com) on February 17.
The “Heart So Real Tour” marks Offor’s first headline tour in support of his critically acclaimed sophomore album, “Real.”
The versatile singer/guitarist/keyboardist, who has earned numerous Christian music awards as well as two Grammy Award nominations, has lived a challenging life.
Songs such as “Brighter Days” and “Believe” are like anthems for Offor, who has shown a tremendous amount of resilience his entire life.
Offer was born in Nigeria and moved to Connecticut when he was still very young.
“I was born in Owerri, which is about an hour-and-a-half south of Lagos,” said Offor, during a phone interview last week from his home in Nashville.
Offor was born blind in left eye and with limited vision in the other due to congenital glaucoma. When he was six years old, Offor and his uncle migrated to Connecticut in the hope of salvaging the vision in his right eye, which had perfect vision.
“It did work,” said Offor, referring to the doctors’ efforts to prevent total blindness. “Then, when I was 10, I got shot in my good eye with a water gun – playing around in the yard with a super soaker.”
The water gun incident detached his retina and eventually left him lacking functional vision in a matter of four years.
“I still have a little vision in my right eye,” said Offor.
Offor began composing music on piano. At the same time, he learned to play songs by his favorites including Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder and other Motown artists.
He embarked on career as a gospel musician and relocated to Nashville to attend Belmont University.
“I was studying commercial voice and music composition at Belmont,” said Offor, whose family belongs to Nigeria’s Igbo tribe.
“After two years, I gracefully exited and moved back to New York. I used to go to a lot of singer/songwriter clubs in the West Village. Even though I’m blind, I learned how to ride the subway.”
Offor played at bars in his young adult years before competing on The Voice during its seventh season in 2014, where he joined team Pharrell Williams and later Adam Levine, before getting eliminated in the show’s third round.
Offor regularly performs at the Kennedy Center to help spread awareness about artists with disabilities. In 2010, he won the International Young Soloists Award from VSA.
“My first breakthrough was when I won the Young Soloists Award at the Kennedy Center in 2010,” said Offor. “I started doing auditions for little labels. Then, I did The Voice in 2014.
“I moved back to Nashville to write songs. It didn’t go the way I wanted it to at first, but it got me back. I got my first record deal with Universal Records in 2020.”
In 2022 he released the single, “Brighter Days,” accompanied by an album of the same name. The song reached No. 17 on the Billboard Top 20, No. 25 on the mainstream Adult Contemporary chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Top TV songs chart.
In 2023, Offor released a single, “My Tribe,” which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Christian AirPlay for seven weeks. “My Tribe” pays tribute to his sister, Mercy, who died December 29, 2022, and to his home country, Nigeria.
Later that year, his song, “Believe,” reached number 23 on Christian Top 40 and in November 2023 was nominated for the Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.
Offor also received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album with his album, “My Tribe.”
It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart and No. 20 on the Top Current Digital Album Sales and Official Charts UK Top Christian/Gospel charts.
Later that year, his song, “Wonderful Christmastime,” a Paul McCartney cover, reached No. 1 on the Billboard AC Monitored and Airplay charts.
“Getting the Christian Music Grammy nominations was great,” said Offor. “But I don’t think of myself as a traditional Christian artist. I think of myself as an artist that is a Christian.”
Offor’s long-awaited sophomore album, “Real,” was released a few months ago. The album features singles, “Jordans,” and “Somebody’s Child,” with Dolly Parton.
“I recorded most of ‘Real’ in Nashville,” said Offor. “I also did some recording session in London.
“A lot of the recording got done analog. Every producer works differently. The main producer for the album was Heinrich Michaelson.
“I wrote a lot of songs. I had over 100 songs ready, but I only put 16 on the record. The guidepost was authenticity. I wanted it to live up to its name.”
Video link for Blessing Offor — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUuhNQBumBY.
The show at The Foundry on February 17, which has Laura Cheadle as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $14.
Katzù Oso
Katzù Oso is the stage name of Paul Hernandez. Tonight, he will visit the Main Line for a show at the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, www.ardmoremusic.com) where he will share a bill with Say She She.
Katzù Oso is a Latino artist from Los Angeles known for his dreamy pop sound and multicultural influences.
He was born and raised in Montebello, California, east of Los Angeles. His upbringing in a multicultural environment has significantly influenced his music, blending elements of Latin pop, chillwave, and vintage synth sounds.
“Both of my parents were into music – and my uncle,” said Katzù, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Fort Collins, Colorado.
“My dad always had a guitar around. He was a big Santana fan – that and classic rock. He was always listening to English classic rock.
“The Latino music I got from my mom who listened to acts like Roberto Carlos (a Brazilian singer-songwriter known as “King of Brazilian Music”). She was also into Norteño (a subgenre of regional Mexican music) and Afro-Cuban music.
“Both of my parents were Mexican-American. We always spoke Spanglish at home.”
Katzù got his start on guitar when he was quite young.
“One day my dad asked me if I wanted to learn to play guitar,” said Katzù.
“He got me started on a bass guitar. He wanted me to get used to strings. He said I had to get my fingers strong before I played the guitar. I was around 11 or 12.
“My first bass was a fake Hofner – a mock version of the violin bass that Paul McCartney plays. I played in cover bands when I was in high school. I graduated in 2012 and started writing my own music in 2017.
“I listened to a lot of indie rock. Tame Impala was a big influence – especially when I found out he was by himself.”
After putting out a string of singles starting with “Sophie” in 2018, Katzù Oso released his debut EP, “Pastel,” in 2018.
“I did my first EP at my parents’ house on a MIDI keyboard and a laptop,” said Katzù. “I did all the music on the recording – starting with the beats and then adding the rest. That EP got a lot of traction.”
Next release for Katzù was “Colour” in 2020 and followed by his debut album, “Tmi,” in 2022.
Now, the focus is on “La Conexión,” which was released via Cosmica Artists on October 17, 2025.
“La Conexión” is an immersive, cinematic exploration of human emotion, relationships, and self-discovery. The artist brings his visual storytelling background as a photographer into his music, with every track functioning like a moment suspended in time—capturing the raw beauty, pain, and complexity of life through sound.
Through themes of transformation, love, loss, and introspection, Katzù Oso crafts a narrative that is universally relatable yet deeply personal — blending elements of Latin pop, acoustic ballads, and cinematic instrumentation.
“I started my own studio in Boyle Heights in 2019 and then later moved it to Pico Rivera,” said Katzù. “I do my recording with Ableton and have a lot of analog pedals.
“I always start with the music before the lyrics. It usually starts with a chord progression. Next is a catchy melody and a catchy hook. At first, I just sing gibberish.
“Songwriting comes pretty naturally for me. I can write a song for you real quick. Songwriting is like a bolt of lightning captured in the moment. The only time it’s challenging is if I get writer’s block from overthinking.”
“La Conexión” is an intertwined collection of 12 songs with diverse music and deep emotion.
According to Katzù, “This album is a collection of pivotal moments that have shaped who I am. It’s a project about love, pain, hope, longing, and the quiet resilience that carries you forward.
“Like a roll of film with 36 exposures, each song captures a unique story, a snapshot in time. ‘La Conexión’ is made up of 12 songs — 12 moments suspended in 35 minutes of music.
“I didn’t confine myself to a single genre, because I wasn’t raised in a single sound. I grew up surrounded by a wide spectrum of music, culture, and emotion — and I wanted this album to reflect that, without holding back.
“I come from a diverse city, rich with culture and community, and I wanted ‘La Conexión’ to feel like that — a melting pot of influences and sounds that ultimately made me, me.”
“La Conexión” will be delivered live by Katzù Oso’s current three-piece lineup.
‘On tour, I have Gil Simo on guitar and backup vocals,” said Katzù. “I have Alec Kwo on my right playing keyboards. I’m singing and doing some backing tracks and some synth stuff.”
Video link for Katzù Oso – https://youtu.be/g7jczYCYlYU.
The show at the Ardmore Music Hall on February 18 will start at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $37.
Another attractive mid-week show will take place in West Chester on February 18 when Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org) presents Ruben Studdard.
Studdard rose to national fame as the winner of Season Two of “American Idol” and has since built an acclaimed career as one of contemporary soul’s most recognizable voices.
A Grammy Award nominee, Studdard has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, “Soulful,” and the chart-topping gospel album “I Need an Angel.”
Best known for hits like “Flying Without Wings,” “Sorry 2004,” and “Change Me,” Studdard has a rich, unmistakable voice that has captivated audiences for more than two decades.
In addition to his recording success, he has earned praise for his work on stage and screen, including starring as Fats Waller in the national tour of “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” which produced a Grammy-nominated cast recording.
Video link for Ruben Studdard — https://youtu.be/yxTYq_uShII.
The show at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center on February 18 will start at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $56, $71 and $86.
