Concert Reviews

The celebration of Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary continued on Tuesday, September 26th, when the NY State of Mind Tour made a stop at Washington DC’s Capital One Arena. De La Soul, Nas, and Wu-Tang Clan are the featured acts on the bill.

Pleasure P took the stage around 7:45 to an energetic crowd. Throughout a brief set, Pleasure performed hits from his 2009 solo debut, including “Boyfriend #2”, “Under,” and “Did You Wrong.” Naturally, P took it back to his Pretty Ricky days performing “Grind On Me,” Your Body,” “Juicy,” and “On The Hotline”. A personal highlight of the show was seeing Pleasure pay tribute to his mentor, the late great Static Major. While he lacked a band, Pleasure P more than showed he has enough stage to headline a club tour.

Blockheads were out in full force on Monday, July 31st, when Joey McIntyre, youngest member and the second lead vocalist of pop icons New Kids on The Block, performed at The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. McIntyre previously had a successful Vegas Residency with Debbie Gibson, and following the success of his Carnegie Hall appearance earlier this year, Joe decided to take his show on the road.

Every music fan has a bucket list of artists they want to see live. As everyone is aware, there is no guarantee of tomorrow.

The Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Ms. Mary J. Blige, received her flowers on Saturday, March 11th, when tribute band Just Fine made a stop at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Club. Now I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a massive fan of Mary’s live performance. However, I am always down to support a tribute band and anyone living their dreams.

Legendary group, The Roots, continued their residency at the world-renowned Kennedy Center on February 18 when Black Thought: Streams of Thought returned. This time the featured special guest was artist Titus Kaphar.

Iconic music group New Edition is preparing for their “Legacy” tour with opening acts Tank, Guy, and Keith Sweat. I heard about the tour this past fall when Keith accidentally spilled the beans during one of his shows.

One of Kevin Hart’s Plastic Cups Boyz, Spank Horton, stepped out on his own to headline a show at the DC Improv on Sunday, January 8th. Before breaking into comedy, Mr. Horton used to heckle comics he found unfunny. Unlike most, though, Horton put his money where his mouth was and is now an in-demand comic.

Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood, and the Knight brothers (Jordan and Jon), better known as New Kids on the Block. Promoting the latest variation of their “Mixtape Tour,” the legendary boy band has been touring to sellout crowds since late spring.

The year was 1980, and Stevie Wonder was still enjoying the success of what many still consider his magnum opus Songs in the Key of Life. During my early days as a Podcaster, I interviewed many artists, including Eric Roberson, Stokely, and Madi Ridge.

Three vocalists solidified their reputations as modern R&B icons on Saturday, April 2nd, when Maxwell’s The Night Tour made a stop in Chocolate City. JOE, Anthony Hamilton, and headliner Maxwell joined forces to provide Capital One Arena with a night of autotune free singing and R&B classics.

New Edition made a stop in-group member Johnny Gill’s hometown of Washington D.C. on Thursday, March 31st, as The Culture Tour continues to entertain audiences across the U.S. I previously reviewed the show during the Baltimore show. As a die-hard fan of New Edition, I had plans to attend another show regardless, but I felt it was only suitable to review the differences between the two shows.