Public Theologian, Artist and Music History Sage Building an 'Indie' Bridge Between Theology and Pop Culture Connecting with Artists and Providing a Ministry of Presence Since 2003
When I saw the first video footage in a video clip the morning after the kick-off concert in Denver, I was quite honestly simply wonderstruck by the fantastic light show and stage art design. Especially liked Usher's background show where a chess board was portrayed kind of holographically throughout the song performance. He has such a smooth and cool stage presence and an impressive majestic command of what was the vast audience before him.
Throughout the show how Brown paid tribute to Michael Jackson, Prince and other r&b artists was heartening. I particularly liked his performance of Residuals where the hood of a car was used as his stage and all the lights glowing in the backdrop from what appeared to be Los Angeles, provided an amazing backdrop.
Detroit's show was as energy packed as Denver's. The crowd really enjoyed Chris coming down from the stage, mingling and dancing with some of the audience. The performance of New Flame where Chris and Usher danced and sang together was great to see after all the build up and pre-concert enthusiasm expressed by both of them about working together. To actually see it accomplished was heartwarming. Of course, Chris flying through the air had everyone excited and probably on the edge of there seats and on pins and needles.
The concerts on both nights have been spectacular. The combination of these two entertainment icons performing live at a huge stadium with capacity crowds surpassing 50,000 created quite a buzz.
Clip from Minneapolis:
Clip from Cleveland:
Forthcoming via link
While I thoroughly have enjoyed watching the amazing concert videos and live streams,what has been most notable about the tour is the way the artists have opened up access and opportunities for our youth as well as fans in general. Usher through his non-profit Usher's New Look , 10 interns have had the paid opportunity to learn what goes on behind the scenes of such a large production. And the tour has recently sent out a call to the pubic to apply for paid positions to participate in the actual stage concert performance as background extras.
Please tune into my podcast to learn more about my coverage of this and other concert and music events as well as how music plays and has played a role in our relationship with god in gospel music, jazz, blues and R&B.
God bless you and continued success to Usher and Chris on this tour. Shout out to the fans as well.
The highly anticipated and long awaited Raymond and Brown, the R & B Tour kicks off in Denver, Colorado tomorrow, Friday, June 25,2025 at the Empower Field.
Eager fans, well respected titans and old school influencers of the industry have been commenting about this historic tour for months including Jermaine Dupris who's comment was motivating and deferential. He shared it in his customary laid back style. It can be found here on YouTube:
Note- Please excuse the link malfunction. I am experiencing technical difficulties at this time of posting by way of glitch or hackers. Hopefully, things will be back to normal soon. In the meantime, you can catch this update on the related YouTube channel at the following link:
Native New Yorker mult-platinum, multi-Grammy Award winning , r&b-pop music mega star Alicia Keys, joined City officials including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on the platform outside City Hall and performed her very popular hit song "Empire State of Mind: before an enthusiastic crowd of New York Knicks fans.
Jay-Z having earned by street cred, record sales, numerous Grammy awards and accolades, recognition as the "greatest rapper of all time", headlines the popular Roots picnic today and tomorrow. He is celebrating the 30 year anniversary of the studio release of his debut album "Reasonable Doubt".
According to news reports 80,000 are expected at the venue and ticket sales have soared. Other stars joining the line-up include Erykah Badu, Brandy, Kehlani, rapper T.I., DJ Jazzy Jeff, Jermaine Dupri and Friends, Mariah the Scientist and more. See the following poster for a full list:
I'll be following for updates on the possibility of a live stream of the event. In the meantime catch a video update which will include some commentary on the performances, well wishes and prayers for the pinic organizers, musicians and attendees.
