Tour—Ella Mai Returns to Richmond
Photo credit: Tyler Fuhrmeister/Acre Media
Just when you thought the Richmond concert spring line up couldn’t get any sweeter, Ella Mai brings the Heart on My Sleeve tour to the National. It was an outstanding night for real R&B lovers.
When it comes to major acts announcing tours, what they perform usually moves you to buy tickets, but what excites me in addition to what’s performed is who’s opening. What rising star will meet the moment and bring me into their fandom? The small acts can make a huge impact. Thuy, pronounced twee, was an excellent choice for that opening slot. She performed so well that you almost forgot she was the opener, setting the bar somewhere in the stratosphere. I might’ve been thirty seconds into the set before I realized she was about to make me a fan. Thuy’s vocal range was explosive, and her stage presence made it clear that she wasn’t afraid of the big lights. I believe crowd control is also a solid metric for an artist and Thuy puppeteered the audience as if Ella Mai had already come and gone for the evening. She performed an original set of records, serenaded a couple on the front row, gave us an occasional two step, and found the space to tell jokes about herself to enhance the relatability in her songs. There was a real vulnerability about her set that I appreciated also, leaving me with the impression that she her set wasn’t just a performance but a real page out of her journal. Overall, Thuy needs to be on your bucket list of performers, but in the meantime, make sure she’s on your R&B playlists. She checks every box to excel in this space and she’s doing it with yay area on her shoulders.
Photo credit: Tyler Fuhrmeister/Acre Media
As an advent R&B lover, this tour felt like nod to multiple generations of R&B. Ella Mai’s music represents the new guard of and the use of a live band is something we’d typically attribute to the legacy acts. The background singers were also very involved in the performance beyond adlibs and choreography, another sign of thought and intention in the experience. Kudos. Though the sophomore album inspired the tour, her setlist consisted of EP favorites like “10,000 Hours” and a handful of hits from her debut album. We were also given a brief intermission where the band rocked the stage alone, giving fans a moment to get more acquainted with the other cast members on the tour. Ella Mai’s energy was electric on stage, never losing a beat no matter where she picked up on the choreography. She interacted with nearly all the attendees up front, giving the lucky few of us at least one moment to take home. And of course sang the roof off the venue; everything you’d expect from the Grammy-winning songstress. From the dozens of memorable moments that night, watching her rock Latto’s “Didn’t Say” verse resonated on my conscious, not exclusively because of the content but what that moment meant. Features are often skipped over at live shows, but she went the extra mile for the fans. Those are the small decisions that I appreciate the most. After a six-year hiatus from Richmond, I’d say tour was a perfect return to the city. Much love to Ella Mai and her team.