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Friday night in St. Louis R. Kelly’s the Buffet tour made its stop in St. Louis-well…really St. Charles. It has been some time since the King of R&B made a stop here in St. Louis and a packed arena was a buzz filled with adoring fans waiting on the show to start. From the start to the time I left the arena I was thoroughly entertained. Kelly makes it clear he wants his fans to enjoy the night and he has curated something special. Injecting veteran showmanship through stagecraft and set design he kept the crowd visually engaged and hyped while going over a 20 year catalog of hit records. I almost feel as if by giving away too much information I’d ruin the show, for the remaining cities on the tours schedule but from Inside Jokes, a lil Netflix and chill action, his R. Bot, and well Kelly interaction with fans, Kelly delivered all night long. [Pause]

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I have been an R. Kelly fan practically since his career began in the 90’s and to have finally seen the man in concert I feel like I can check something off the list. R. Kelly’s 29 year career in music is legendary. You have to wonder just how many careers he has helped launch through music. The amount of artists that he has influenced or who have borrowed from the man is extensive take Bruno Mars nod to Kelly during his Moonshine Jungle tour in 2014. I bring this up specifically because of the loss of another music icon Prince. His loss to music and the world is massive. One of the highlights of the evening occurred when, Kelly bathed in purple spotlight, commanded every light in the arena turned purple, the concert backdrop was lit purple, and the sound of Prince’s Purple Rain reverberated through the air in tribute to the legend.

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I highly recommend everyone comes out to The Buffet tour. It was beyond entertaining and well worth the price of admission. The following cities the tour will hit can be found online here: The Buffet Tour 

 

DeWarren Smith