Alicia Keys kicked off her 2022” The Alicia + Keys World Tour’” here in Charlotte North Carolina Tuesday night to a sold-out show. This is her first world concert tour in seven years. Just a little background on Alicia Keys. She is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and classically trained pianist. At the age 12 she composed songs and at 15 was signed to Columbia Records. Keys has sold over 90 million records worldwide and was named by Billboard as the top R&B artist of the 2000s. She also has 15 Grammy Awards.
What a beautiful summer night for a concert. The sky is clear and the temperature was in the high nineties. The amphitheater is full of people of all ages from the older generation to a few of the young. Keys has an opening act Pink Sweat$ who is an R&B singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania. His album “Pink Planet” was released in February 2021.
It is time for the Queen of R&B to hit the stage. The audience standing on their feet waiting with anticipation. The lights go down as the back screens are lit up white. The screens then start to slide open, and all you can see is a silhouette of Keys standing between them. Keys is standing on a platform at the back of the stage. She is wearing a black bodysuit with rhinestones and a clear/gray long coat on top. Singing “Nat King Cole” followed by “Truth Without Love”. Keys took time to talk to the audience and make sure everyone was having an enjoyable time. Keys took the crowd on a ride with the perfect mix of old classic to her newer hits. Halfway through the set Keys appeared on a second stage placed at the back of the amphitheater that way the people on the lawn could get up close and personal. The stage was set up DJ style, Keys played songs and wanted the audience’s opinion on which style they liked. First, she played the original style and then played the DJ style. After about thirty minutes of playing on the second stage she made her way back up-front singing “Empire State of Mind” as the screens on the big stage played a slide show of pictures from New York. As the night rolls on Keys played my favorite “Fallin”. She brings out a quire all dressed in white that accompanied her while she sang. Suddenly Keys stops singing, all you can hear is the audience singing including me singing to the top of my lungs. As the night winds down Keys finishes it off with a two song Encore.
From my perspective Keys gave her best performance. It was very family friendly. Keys interacted well with the audience. She sounded and looked fabulous. This is the 1st of 31 shows, if you missed the show there are plenty of opportunities to catch the next one. Check her tour dates for a show coming near you.
