Exclusive Review: Maxwell, Jazmine Sullivan, & October London Prove ‘The Serenade Tour’ Is the Year’s Hottest R&B Ticket

3 spectacular voices; 1 unforgettable show.

Living up to its moniker, ‘The Serenade Tour’ is undoubtedly the year’s hottest R&B ticket and That Grape Juice found out firsthand on Sunday (September 29) when its trio of dynamic performers brought their brigade of respective hits into Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Boasting a stylistic blend of soaring, soulful vocals and songs that toast to R&B’s heyday, relative newcomer October London warmed the crowd with his “grown folks R&B” numbers like ‘Back to My Place,’ ‘Mulholland Drive,’ and ‘She Keeps Calling’ – leaving Music City wowed and certainly calling for more.

Anyone who didn’t know who the burgeoning R&B frontrunner was at the beginning of his set certainly couldn’t say the same after he literally and figuratively left the stage smoking.

Concertgoers could barely catch their collective breaths before Jazmine Sullivan stormed the stage and blew the roof off with her modern R&B classics like ‘Bust Your Windows,’ ‘Let It Burn,’ ‘Need U Bad,’ ‘In Love with Another Man,‘ ‘Pick Up Your Feelings,’ and more.

And while the GRAMMY-winning diva may have been belting out lyrics that weren’t the holiest, Nashville can’t say she didn’t have them shouting “amen” as she took the crowd to church via a melismatic journey through her greatest hits.

The epitome of “peerless,” Maxwell took time from his set to christen Sullivan “the greatest voice of her generation” – and by the time she took her bow it’s hard to believe anyone would disagree.

And as concertgoers sat wondering how Maxwell could match or surpass the electricity brought by October and Jazmine, the reigning King of NeoSoul came through with a shining reminder of why he is the show’s crown jewel.

Beyond blessing already blown-away attendees with prized gems from across his nearly 30-year catalog including expected favorites like ‘Ascension,’ ‘Pretty Wings,’ and ‘Fortunate,’ the 51-year-young icon breathed new life into classics like Al Green‘s ‘Simply Beautiful’ and Norman Connors’ ‘You Are My Starship.’

What’s more, he also showed off some fancy footwork during his energetic set – proving his legendary falsetto isn’t the only noteworthy gift in his cannon.

Cementing his place as one of the genre’s greatest showmen, the GRAMMY winner’s toast to his forerunners (including the late Frankie Beverly) was only bested by his nods to the “60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s babies” who comprised the kaleidoscope of a crowd that recited every song with him as if he was serenading them alone.

If ever a reminder is needed of how pertinent R&B is to the fabric of music culture and why Maxwell is one of its most important threads, ‘The Serenade Tour’ serves as the necessary answer.

Visit Ticketmaster to see if Maxwell, Jazmine Sullivan, and October London are bringing ‘The Serenade Tour’ to a town near you.

[photo courtesy: Phil DeSimone]