Grammy award winning R&B superstar Anthony Hamilton performed some of his cool classics and sweet seasonal sounds at the Municipal Auditorium last Friday night. No stranger to Music City, he also brought along a couple of well-known guests, Eric Benét and Lalah Hathaway.
“Aw man, this show was phenomenal,” said a well-groomed Negro gentleman in a three-piece suit.
Before his gold and platinum albums, before songs like ‘The Point of It All’ and this year’s ‘Amen,’ Hamilton first sang in the choir of Charlotte’s New Shiloh Baptist Church. The North Carolina native with the powerful, gospel-infused voice has certainly captured the essence of the old classics and built an attraction for the modern-day listener. Sounding in fine tune the entire night, Hamilton’s band and trio of backing vocalists, the HamilTones, stood before an exuberant audience, often performing soul renditions of Hip-Hop tracks. Of course he did some of his throwback hits, getting the people out of their seats and moving side to side. Fans enjoyed mega hits like ‘Charlene,’ ‘Best of Me,’ ‘Pray for Me’ and ‘Can’t Let Go.’
In February of this year, Hamilton performed at the White House, hosted by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle as part of a tribute to iconic singer Ray Charles. In March, he released his 9th studio album, What I’m Feelin,’ which he describes as an “emotional cleanse” reflecting on some of the hurdles he has faced throughout his life. Hamilton partnered with Cracker Barrel to release a deluxe version of the album sold online and in stores across the country. After one week, the project ranked number two on the Billboard R&B chart, representing his highest career debut. That same month, Hamilton performed on NPR’s critically acclaimed Tiny Desk Concerts. Chris Brown recruited Hamilton to perform on the Legends remix to his hit single ‘Back to Sleep,’ which was released in April. Hamilton is a busy man. His workload is heavy, but he embraces it fully. Demonstrating his diversity, in 2015, Hamilton made a cameo appearance on the hit Fox show, Empire.
Surely, Anthony Hamilton will continue giving fans their money’s worth, and embarking on new opportunities that come about. Not to mention, by all accounts, Music City will always be on his radar. So, stay tuned.
