Concerts
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The Soul Rebels with Big Freedia. Butcher Brown, Digable Planets, Ledisi and the West Coast Get Down featuring Leon Bridges and Raphael Saadiq. Shoutouts to Father’s Day, Juneteenth, hip-hop’s 50thanniversary, Black Music Month and Pride Month. There was something for everyone during the second day of the annual Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival (June 18).
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“You love music like I do; you want every dribbling drop of it,” said festival host Arsenio Hall in his welcome remarks. “I will be the ringmaster of the circle of jazz artists today … And there’s just one rule. Leave all of your troubles behind and have a musical picnic like no other.”
And the Bowl’s full house did just that, beginning with youth act the LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) Beyond the Bell All District Jazz Big Band with special guest Charlie Young. Then giving inspirational music a different twist was Andrew Gouché and Prayze Connection. Nicknamed “the godfather of gospel bass,” Grammy winner Gouché — who has played for Mary Mary, Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin — first led the band in a mellow, moving take on “The Lord’s Prayer.” Then the group, which included Gouché’s nephew Davion Farris, segued into several other songs, including the Clark Sisters’ classic “You Brought the Sunshine” and covers of two songs recorded by gospel star Fred Hammond, “Let the Praise Begin” and “Blessed,” featuring special guests Eric Dawkins (with a dance assist from the Cardinal Divas of the SC Drum Line) and another Gouché nephew, D Smoke, respectively.
During the late afternoon phase of the festival, jazz and world music aficionados were treated to invigorating sets by Richmond, Virginia, quintet Butcher Brown and Boukman Eksperyans. The latter held court with their fresh, percolating fusion of jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk and R&B on songs like “Frontline” and “It Was Me.” Among the eight selections performed by Grammy-nominated Haitian group Boukman Eksperyans during its crowd-pleasing set were “Jou Nou Revolte Granbwa Ile,” “Kalfou O!” and “Tan Bou.”
Big Freedia performs at the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival on June 18, 2023.
New Orleans brass band The Soul Rebels then took the crowd to the next level with its unique brand of soul, funk, R&B, rock, pop and jazz. Raising the high-energy bar with the raucous “Turn It Up” and “Rebel Rock,” the ensemble turned the volume all the way up when bounce music master Big Freedia hit the stage — and got her twerk on — for a noteworthy three-song set: “I Heard,” “N. O. Bounce” and “Gin in My System.”
Thirty years have elapsed since Digable Planets released its gold-certified debut album Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space). But the warm Bowl reception given to the rap trio made it seem like it was only yesterday when the album’s first single, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” became a Billboard Hot 100 top 15 hit and won the group a Grammy for best rap performance. Before closing their appearance with that song and a standing ovation, Digable Planets worked their way through other first-album tracks “Where I’m From,” “Escapism (Getting’ Free)” and “Nickel Bags,” plus “It’s Good to Be Here,” “Cool Breezes” and “Graffiti” — and proved it has lost none of its enduring magic.
Ledisi performs at the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival on June 18, 2023.
Mathew Imaging/LA Phil
Ledisi and her versatile four-octave soprano kept the captivated audience in constant cheer-and-applaud mode during her 45-minute appearance. Performance standouts included “Add to Me,” the colorful scat-accented “Alright” (“It’s a jazz fest so you’ve got to have some scatting”), the autobiographical “Pieces of Me,” latest single “I Need to Know” and the searing ballad “Anything for You,” which won the singer-songwriter a Grammy for best traditional R&B performance in 2021.
The collective West Coast Get Down, with founder and jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, closed the festival along with Grammy-winning special guests Leon Bridges and Raphael Saadiq. Bridges’ set with the band featured a well-received three-song medley: “Born Again,” “Bad Bad News” and “Kings and Queens.” An effervescent Saadiq rocked the stage with his bass guitar on “You’re the One That I Like,” “The Sun” and “Skyy, Can You Feel Me.”
The 2023 Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival was curated by Washington and jazz icon Herbie Hancock. On opening day (June 17), host Hall welcomed performers St. Paul and The Broken Bones, Poncho Sanchez, Bell Biv DeVoe, Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance Ensemble at UCLA, Washington and Samara Joy, a double Grammy winner this year for best jazz vocal album and best new artist.
Feid‘s Ferxxo Nitro Jam Underground Tour had an epic first night in Miami Friday, June 16, before he wraps up with his second and final show at the Kaseya Center on Sunday, June 18.
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Produced by Live Nation (which also helmed the artist’s 2022 U.S. tour), Ferxxo (pronounced Fercho) was set for a 29-city tour that kicked off April 20 at the WAMU Theater in Seattle and visited key cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York before wrapping in Miami.
Upon entering the Miami show, you were given special glasses for an immersive, 3D experience after scanning your ticket. These glasses gave you full access to the world of El Ferxxo. At 9:40 p.m., the lights dimmed and a video appeared across large screens, displaying the visual for his single “MXFIX G5” and a message to turn your flash off.
Wearing a beige sports jacket, shorts, white shades, his signature green cap and black-green-neon gloves, Feid arrived on stage to perform the opening track “Chorrito Pa Las Animas.” From the start of the show, he warmly greeted his fans and expressed his excitement for this special evening.
“Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart to everyone who came tonight to ‘Parchar con el Ferxxo’ in Miami Mor. A thousand thanks to everyone who came in green tonight, those who came with El Ferxoo’s glasses, with the cap,” he said, and he finished with, “Remember that if you are going through something bad, leave all that out from the theater. Today we came to have a good time.” “Porque el Ferxxo no se le dedica a cualquier mor (because you don’t dedicate El Ferxxo to whoever),” he added.
Below, check out more highlights from Feid’s concert.
Feid’s energy on stage: Feid’s high-energy performance included big smiles and running across the stage while dancing with his DJs and guitarist, creating a fun and lively atmosphere reminiscent of a boys’ night out.
Heartfelt conversations: He took a moment to recognize how difficult it can be and how hard is to live far away from your country and your family, but how all the sacrifice is worth it. “There are only good people here, special people, people who dream, and if you are going through something ‘nea’ (man), all that will pass. Pure blessings are coming for everyone who is here today.”
Daddy Yankee and Yandel’s surprise appearance: The epic moment in which two of the biggest stars in music surprised Miami fans by singing “Yankee 150,” the remix that premiered yesterday featuring the “Big Boss.” It was euphoric, especially since the “Gasolina” hitmaker announced his retirement in 2022.
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Festival season is in full swing, and it’s time to head down to Manchester, Tennessee. After making its comeback last year — COVID-19 paused 2020’s festivities, and flooding from Hurricane Ida stalled the 2021 celebration — Bonnaroo is ready to treat fans to four consecutive nights of blockbuster performances across genres. The music and arts […]
The 1975 announced the dates for their biggest North American tour to date on Tuesday (June 13), a 32-stop outing they’ve dubbed “Still… at their very best.” The fall arena outing continues the tour that has taken the Matty Healy-led band across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand in support of the group’s fifth studio album, last year’s Being Funny in a Foreign Language.
After playing late August/September festival gigs at Lollapalooza (August 4), Outside Lands (August 13), Music Midtown (Sept. 16) and Life Is Beautiful (Sept. 22), the North American dates will kick off on Sept. 26 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The tour will take them to San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Minneapolis, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boston and New York (at Madison Square Garden) before winding down on Dec. 2 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Tickets will go be available in an exclusive fan presale beginning on June 21st at 10 a.m. local time before the general on-sale starts on June 23 at 10 a.m. local time. The band celebrated the announcement of the dates by releasing a new episode of their “A Theatrical Performance of an Intimate Moment” series. In the eight-minute clip, singer Healy wakes up, sucks down some oxygen and makes his bed over a jazz soundtrack before brewing some unnecessarily complicated tea and leaving for his job trimming bonsai trees.
See the 2023 North American tour dates and the “Intimate Moment” video below.
Sept. 26 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
Sept. 28 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
Sept. 30 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena San Diego
Oct. 2 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
Oct. 5 – Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
Oct. 7 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
Oct. 12 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
Oct. 17 – Miami, FL – Kaseya Center
Oct. 18 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
Oct. 20 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
Oct. 22 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Oct. 23 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Arena
Oct. 25 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
Oct. 26 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
Oct. 28 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
Oct. 31 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Nov. 2 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Nov. 3 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Nov. 5 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
Nov. 8 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
Nov. 10 – Philadelphia, PA – Well Fargo Arena
Nov. 12 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Nov. 14 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Nov. 17 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
Nov. 18 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Nov. 20 – London, ON – Budweiser Gardens
Nov. 22 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
Nov. 26 – Salt Lake City, UT – Delta Center
Nov. 27 – Boise, ID – ExtraMile Arena
Nov. 29 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Dec. 1 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
Dec. 2 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
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The Hollywood Bowl opened its 2023 season with a hell of party Saturday evening (June 10), thanks to Janet Jackson and her Together Again Tour with special guest Ludacris. It’s Jackson’s first major outing since her 2019 Metamorphosis Las Vegas residency and, later that year, her 30th anniversary celebration of 1989’s Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814.
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Borrowing its name from the hit single featured on Jackson’s 1997 sixth album The Velvet Rope, Together Again fittingly embodied the reunion vibe coursing throughout the multi-generational and multi-racial audience inside the Bowl. Both Jackson and Ludacris kept the sold-out, constantly cheering, sing-along crowd on its feet from beginning to end of their Los Angeles stopover.
Before coming to the Bowl, Jackson and Ludacris performed the night before (June 9) in Irvine, Calif. Additional California stops on the Together Again Tour — which kicked off April 14 — include Chula Vista (San Diego, June 11), San Bernardino (June 14) and Mountain View (June 16) before heading to Portland, Oregon (June 20) and Seattle (June 21), and then wrapping Oct. 27 in Lincoln (Sacramento, Calif.).
Here are five memorable highlights from the Los Angeles show:
Grand Entrance: Jackson prefaced her one hour and 45-minute set with a video compilation of pivotal moments in her life and 50-year career, from growing up as the youngest sister of the famed Jackson 5 brothers to becoming a solo star in her own right. Then several beats after the video ended, followed by flashing colored lights, Jackson walked onto a circular platform in the center of the stage to extended thunderous applause and shout-outs, resplendent in a floor-length, purple-hooded cape tied with a bow at the neck, purple lipstick and a waist-long, top-knotted ponytail. Dropping the cape, she launched into “Love Me” and then “Damita Jo” wearing a gold sparkly jumpsuit and matching boots. As most fans know, the latter song is her middle name and the title of her 2004 album. It’s also one of several songs — including “Enjoy,” “Like You Don’t Love Me” and “Do It 2 Me” — that she’s been performing live for the first time. But no matter how much of the concert has already been covered in reviews thus far, nothing matches being there to experience first-hand the excitement that comes with the start of a Jackson concert.
Dancing Machine and Other Moves: Further heightening the experience this time is the show’s minimalist set — three video screens, circular platform and upper platform — with Jackson complemented by four energetic male dancers who kept pace with her the whole time. So attendees were given a bird’s eye view of Jackson’s percolating stage presence and still captivating choreography. Among the songs drawing ecstatic reaction during her 40-song set were “If,” “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “What Have You Done for Me Lately”/“Nasty,” “The Pleasure Principle,” “Control” (which had Ludacris dancing in the crowd), “All for You” and “Miss You Much.” A suite of slow songs (“Let’s Wait Awhile,” “Anytime, Anyplace,” “I Get Lonely”) lent an intimate vibe to the evening, as did Jackson performing “Again” with YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) led by conductor Thomas Wilkins.
“It feels so good to be home,” Jackson said before joining YOLA. “Tonight is very special to me because we’re all here to support the LA Phil.” Note: All proceeds from the Bowl’s opening night benefitted the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its learning and community programs.
Ending the show’s second act with “I Get Lonely,” Jackson serenaded one of the dancers and danced suggestively with him — before surprising the crowd by planting him with a full-on kiss and then sashaying offstage wearing a sly smile.
A Colorful Sendoff: Before encoring with “Together Again,” Jackson and crew gave the audience what it had been waiting for … a riveting reprise of one of her most popular and socially conscious hits, “Rhythm Nation.” Decked all in black — with Jackson donning a black T-shirt with RN spelled out across the front — the crew launched into a dance routine that was just as crisp and on-point as it was when Jackson introduced the track and its ground-breaking video back in 1989. A surprise fireworks display illuminating the sky above the Bowl put an exclamation point on the performance.
Shaken and Stirred: Flanked by several video screens frequently emblazoned with his fiery DTP (Disturbing tha Peace) label logo, Ludacris did just that. He didn’t simply warm up the crowd — he fired them up to boiling. With his unique, rapid-fire flow still intact, Luda commandingly strode the stage as he ripped his way through a 40-minute memory-evoking set. As one concertgoer was overheard noting, “You forget just how many records Ludacris has.” With his large Afro bouncing along, the rapper/actor/entrepreneur reeled off 18 songs as he took fans back to day one of his career. Among them: “Southern Fried Intro,” “Welcome to Atlanta,” “Area Codes,” “Lovers & Friends,” “My Chick Bad,” “Money Maker,” first hit single “What’s Your Fantasy,” “Stand Up” (wearing self-described “big ass white shoes”), his verses from Usher’s “Yeah!” and set closer “Get Back.” Honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May this year, Ludacris definitively proved what he declared early into his set: “I was born to be on this damn stage tonight!”
Jamming with Mr. Jam: Spotted in the audience getting his groove on as well was Jimmy Jam. He and partner Terry Lewis are the Grammy-winning songwriters-producers who collaborated with Jackson in crafting a majority of her hits. Watching him, alongside his family, was a cool and unexpected treat.
Taylor Swift is looking back on one of her early live performances. On Sunday (June 11), the 33-year-old pop superstar took to social media after her two sold-out Eras Tour concerts at Detroit’s Ford Field to reminisce about her first time appearing at the approximately 65,000-capacity stadium when she was just 16. “Ahhhhh Detroit that […]
06/11/2023
The legendary artist performed for nearly three hours on June 10 with a star-studded group including Brandi Carlile, Marcus Mumford, and more.
06/11/2023
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour moved back inside on Friday night (June 9), playing the first of two concerts at Detroit’s Ford Field, which has been hosting Swift’s home in the Motor City since 2011. A crowd of nearly 59,300 — including a significant number of travelers to the show — gave Swift a thunderous welcome […]