Urban contemporary radio station V-103 (WVEE-FM) hosted “An Evening With MAXWELL Featuring KEM” in Atlanta on March 30th at State Farm Arena. At 8:30 PM, Kem opened the concert dressed in a salmon colored tailored suit. He performed his popular songs such as, “Love Calls”, “You’re on My Mind”, “Nobody”, “Share My Life”, “My Favorite Thing”, “It’s You”, and more. A saxophone soloist amongst background dancers and singers accompanied Kem on stage. One of his background vocalists in particular was The Voice contestant Beth Griffith-Manley. Kem played the piano while singing during his performance as well.
Between songs, Kem shouted out to Georgia cities College Park, Decatur, Marietta, Lawrenceville, and others. He also insisted on praising God throughout his performance. At one point during the concert he stated, “God is God all the time”, and the audience responded, “All the time God is good.” Further interacting with the crowd, Kem asked for all the men who were with women they loved, to stand up, and join him by singing to their loved ones.
Kem acknowledging Kem for his performance, he asked them to stand up, and give praise to God.
Following Kem’s performance, V-103 assisted with allowing a man from the audience to successfully propose to his long time girlfriend on stage. Immediately after the wedding proposal, the DJ played a series of old school hip-hop and R&B hits. He played well-known songs such as, “Atomic Dog” by George Clinton, “Candy” by Cameo, “Before I Let Go” by Maze & Frankie Beverly, and more.
Furthermore, the DJ hyped up the crowd by calling out ad-libs such as, “If you were born before the 90’s make some noise” and “If you were born before the Internet make some noise.” Several concert attendees danced along to the music, while also joining together in the aisles to do the electric slide. Attendees who were in Greek fraternities and sororities hopped and strolled with their fellow members throughout the arena as well.
Maxwell came on stage a little after 10:00 PM, dressed in a black silk shirt and pant ensemble, paired with a black embroidered kimono robe, black cap, and red tinted aviator glasses. He performed many of his famous songs such as, “Fortunate”, “Get to Know Ya”, “Lifetime”, “W/ As My Girl”, and “Pretty Wings.” In addition to musical performances, Maxwell executed various daring dance moves like a back bend stretch and the splits.
Audience members eagerly cheered him on as he performed, including throwing a pair of lace underwear on the stage. Maxwell responded to the notion by placing the underwear on the microphone, and continuing to sing while gripping the microphone. Maxwell also indicated amid his performance that, “There is no king of R&B without Sam Cooke and many others.” Essentially responding to Atlanta R&B singer and songwriter Jacquees saying he was the king of R&B in 2018.
Maxwell will be returning to Atlanta on September 27th at 8:00 PM to perform with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The concert will be held at the Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park. Tickets can be purchased on all major concert ticket websites.
