Tour—Jill Scott Rocks The MGM on Mother’s Day.
Photo courtesy of CNN
On Mothers Day, I attended the final show of a three day tour stop, honoring the 23rd anniversary of Who Is Jill Scott: Vol 1. This show was a celebration of Jill’s journey but the night was a beautiful celebration of Black women. Who is Jill Scott: Vol 1 has been dubbed as an album that solidified the strength of the Neo Soul movement and I’d bet my bottom dollar that it was the soundtrack to your mothers young adulthood also. It was the first R&B album that I ever owned and that alone made my presence at this show mandatory.
I didn’t expect there to be an opening act, considering the length of Jill’s catalog, but I’m grateful that she was supported by the incredible Adam Blackstone. Adam, accompanied by his band, played a blended set of records from his Legacy album and covers of “Lovely Day” and “What You Want Do For Love”. To finish off the opening set, Adam surprised the audience with an appearance from Roc Nation’s own Dixson, giving him the space to perform an additional cover of D’Angelo’s “Untitled”. After their performance, I had a chance to connect with both Adam and Dixson at the merch table; Adam was kind enough to sign a physical copy of Legacy and Dixson briefly spoke about his plans for an upcoming tour.
After a half hour intermission, Jill hit the stage and the crowd jumped to their feet. She welcomed everyone in the room, gave us a synopsis about the importance of her debut, and invited us in to explore to her mental space during the production of the album. The additional stories, landing more like interludes, served more as a set of moments to not only embrace the beauty of her life in her 50’s but to highlight the importance in growing from the mistakes in her 20’s. The timelessness of the album was more than visible in Jill’s energy. She gave a new breath to every track, so much so that every few songs in, she’d remind us that this was more than a rendition of her debut album, and live music called for a little something extra on the dish for us to appreciate. She transformed the album from top to bottom right in front us. Jill ended the night with a three pack encore, including her biggest hits like “Golden” leaving the audience more than satisfied. Ms. Scott— thank you for elevating the night and bringing that Philly love to the DMV. We’ll celebrate your legacy for another twenty-three!