A Superb Experience: Opening night of The Alicia Keys World Tour
A sweltering summer evening in Charlotte, NC brought 15-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer-songwriter (actor, philanthropist, activist) Alicia Keys and Pinks Sweat$ out to vibe with the filled CMCU Amphitheater (Livenation). Coming off a three-month sold-out European arena tour, Ms. Keys kicked off the 2022 ‘The Alicia + Keys World Tour’ with a packed house. The tour is Prince-esque inspired by the legend’s mentor and long-time friend, the goliath of legends himself. The once-in-a-lifetime tour is steam-rolling the USA and will culminate in Tennessee in mid-September.
Along with the R&B songstress and her band, was opener Pink Sweat$. His debut album, Pink Planet, was released in February 2021, Tonight he was joined by guitarist Russ. Their sound can be explained in a few intimate details of the show; toe tapping, finger snapping, vanilla cigar smoking, hook singing, and empathetic humanitarian pauses. As soon as lead vocalist David Bowden opened up the show, his sultry vocals were comparable to a 90’s Maxwell with new wave sass. The performance gave way to a great time to dance, sweat, and get primed for a once-in-a-lifetime show. In the first song we were posed to clap to the beat, second roused to sing the hook, but there we were entwined in a snap-a-thon and shout for the lovers attending this night.
Pink Sweat$ minimal stage set-up sounded like a full stage placement. There was a mic, a singer, and an acoustic-based guitar. During the later part of a song, a fan had a slight accident and they stopped the concert momentarily to check on the patron to claps from the fans. The fan was tended to promptly by the Livenation staff and walked to his seat and was reported to be doing better a few songs into the concert. The band amped the show back up to perform their songs “Honesty,” “Pink City,” and “At My Worst” which was described as when at your lowest you want someone to love you then not just to keep you from it.
They ended the show with a crowd repeated affirmation “ You are loved, you are enough, you are blessed,” and heart fingers. The sound was on point and I find I will be seeing them again soon.
Alicia Keys: When she hit the scene in the late 90s, her voice and fresh face came during a beckoning call for an authentic talent. It was the time of cookie-cutter pop boy bands and factory-made divas with killer vocals but lacking in drive without billion-dollar music moguls behind them. While she had the best of soul, she still stuck out of the crowd going her own way after they tried to have her write with her record label’s people. She hated the tedious and art-lacking organic process. In a small apartment in Harlem, she bought her own equipment and learned to record and tweak all the steps to a fully recorded song herself. Later, she apprenticed behind the scenes with talented producers and composers and found herself. Zoom forward to tonight.
Opening night the air was thick and the crowd sweaty, you see a silhouette burst into the middle of the stage and it’s on. The bass-heavy extravaganza is coming and you feel it deep within your bones as it vibrates your soul. Her organic vocals beam through the mic at levels of CD perfection with little to no backing vocals. Unusual for such a powerful voice – artists need to save those pipes! This go around she chose glamorous amounts of shiny things in her costuming, and her classic beautiful braids. Her emblematic piano lay on a runner that moved from side to side of the stage depending on if she was playing or running around. We heard classics like “Girl on Fire” and “Fallin;”, and mid-set she disappeared to images of her home base NY on the large back of the stage. The whole thing was an LED setup. As the images played she emerged on a stage set-up at the back of the venue that reminded me of a club DJ round table. The lawn patrons got an up close and personal view of Ms. Keys and she mentioned how wonderful it was to be so close to the fans again.
Seen and Heard:
An amazing array of hairstyles. Yes, this is odd to comment on, but I cannot tell you enough how amazing it was to see this. One girl had her hair in a nest with an actual 3D bird made of paper mache in it. I’ll also comment on some bald beauties rocking that shine to accent their swagger. Artistry is in clothing, hair, music, and presence. As we all sweat our last drop into the Charlotte air, the sun had set and the lights burned bright into the skyline reminding us how very much a song, an album, a tour….an artist can touch our lives.
Alice herself touched on many of her influences including Michael Jackson and the main man Prince. She got down and did the robot with a very theatrically set keyboard solo with futuristic laser beams shooting behind her and her entire band getting down.
The crowd was an eclectic bunch; of all ages. Alicia called herself a concert sister to a young child close to the front who announced it was their first concert. She powered through the remainder of the concert beaming
What an amazing night and what an amazing connection we shared. My spirit has been calling me to bring us all closer together. Tonight is exactly what touring should feel like after we’ve all been disconnected for so long. I’m deeply thankful to Charlotte for a magical night.”
Some added sights and sounds to the night were:
- Rotating pianos.
- The crowd is loose and selfie driven. Energy wasters. She said no more. I vibrate with this message.
- Ready to let go. The mostly seated crowd stood to their feet to be mesmerized by talent magnified. Seasoned legend on the biggest stages now here with us for a night.
- Then we did]song votes: original or remix version she played and did 4 of them Nighttime at the Apollo style.
- Gorgeous stage clothes.
- Blues in the piano.
- Soul in the fingers.
- A night to remember.
If you are not lucky enough to see one of the 31 tour dates, you are definitely in luck with an infinite number of songs and collaborations to jam to.
She’s worked with some of the best in the industry and a favorite collaboration that is on one of my YouTube rotations is with Shutter alum John Mayer.
Other notable collaborations: with Justin Timberlake, Patti Smith, Mary J. Blige, David Bowie, Bono, Beyonce, and Adele, sometimes I feel this list is growing and endless.
We’ve also been treated to the gift of her penning songs from big status artists such as; Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Maxwell, Jay-Z, Mario, Pitbull, Whitney Houston, Usher, 50 Cent, Ludacris, and Drake (and more!) The tour is one of a kind for an experience to spend the night with a legend who has donned the stage for decades now. Enjoyed, embraced, expanded her craft, and when the time comes you will not be sorry standing in that arena.
See This Tour: For more information on the tour and for tickets please visit https://www.aliciakeys.com/shows/tour/
THE ALICIA + KEYS WORLD TOUR 2022 DATES
Fri Aug 05 – Washington, DC – The Theater at MGM National Harbor
Sun Aug 07 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia
Tue Aug 09 – Boston, MA – Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
Thu Aug 11 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
Fri Aug 12 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
Sun Aug 14 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Tue Aug 16 – Detroit, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
Thu Aug 18 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Fri Aug 19 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
Sun Aug 21 – St. Louis, MO – Saint Louis Music Park
Tue Aug 23 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Wed Aug 24 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre*
Thu Aug 25 – Denver, CO – Bellco Theatre
Sun Aug 28 – Seattle, WA – WAMU Theater
Mon Aug 29 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Wed Aug 31 – Portland, OR – Theater of the Clouds at Moda Center
Fri Sep 02 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
Sat Sep 03 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
Mon Sep 05 – Los Angeles, CA – YouTube Theater
Tue Sep 06 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
Wed Sep 07 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
Fri Sep 09 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU
Sat Sep 10 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
Tue Sep 13 – Houston, TX – Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
Wed Sep 14 – Dallas, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Sat Sep 17 – Orlando, FL – Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Fri Sep 23 – Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
Sat Sep 24 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
Alicia Keys
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website
Click Here For the Full Gallery of the Evening!
If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.
Photos by: Kris Engelhart
