‘Queens Tour’ reigns supreme in Baltimore
WASHINGTON - They are soul legends whose names, alone, draw crowds and admiration and Friday was no different for Gladys Knight, Stephanie Mills and Chaka Khan as they took the stage in Baltimore.
Queens of the night:
The superstar singers joined forces at Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena, dazzling attendees of all generations on their highly-anticipated "Queens Tour." The nationwide run also includes the multi-octave showstopper Patti Labelle. Though she didn’t take the stage in Charm City, Labelle did rejoin the ladies the following night in Brooklyn, New York.
The show flowed like a jukebox, boasting back-to-back hits from the beloved women's illustrious, decades-spanning catalogs.
Knight, known as the ‘Empress of Soul," took to the stage first—to the surprise of some concertgoers. She donned a strikingly classic red pantsuit while belting a medley of her famous tracks, including "Neither One of Us," "Midnight Train to Georgia" and one of her most celebrated collaborations, "That’s What Friends are For." The crowd swayed to her ballads, with a few wishing she had performed longer.
Songstress Stephanie Mills was next up. Her signature, powerful voice captivated the audience right from the start. Mills effortlessly worked every corner of the stage with tunes like "Never Knew Love Like This Before" and "I Have Learned to Respect the Power Love," the latter consisted of rousing solo moments from her background singers, including her adopted son, Jason.
She ended her set with the deeply emotional and timeless classic, "Home," which included a video montage and tribute to fallen stars such as Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross and Aretha Franklin. Mills’s son Farad joined her onstage for the close.
The show wrapped with Chaka Khan, who undoubtedly was the scene-stealer of the evening. Many people jumped to their feet and grooved to uptempo numbers like "I Feel For You," "Ain’t Nobody" and the powerhouse anthem, "I’m Every Woman."
Khan also let loose in her black, lace outfit, proving her fashion sense matches her top-knotch vocals which soared seamlessly in "My Funny Valentine" and "Through the Fire."
Big picture view:
The fan interaction—and appreciation—showmanship and vocal brilliance make this show a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and definitely a needed scratch off the bucket list for anyone who considers himself or herself an R&B music buff.
It’s a chance to see these iconic, multifaceted women in one show. It doesn’t miss a beat. Though the event would be even more memorable if all the queens performed a song together.