On Saturday August 3rd, Merriweather Post Pavilion hosted the 2019 version of the Summer Spirit Festival and the lineup featured a nice mix of artists representing R&B, Go Go, Jazz and Soul.
The show started with vocalist Kyle Dion, who has a nice falsetto voice and the crowd warmed up to him during his brief but entertaining set. The next three acts, Sirius Company, Be’La Dona and The Backyard Band gave the crowd about 90 minutes of some of that crankin’ go-go music that DC is known for. The highlight of this part of the festival was when Sugar Bear, leader of the legendary Go-Go band Experience Unlimited (EU), came out on stage to kick it with the ladies of Be’La Dona.
Next up was New Orleans native and keyboardist, songwriter and producer PJ Morton. PJ’s sound is a nice mix of jazz and soul with a touch of gospel. PJ started off on keyboards, but ventured out front to sing a few songs as well, including his impressive take on the Bee Gees’ classic How Deep Is Your Love.
DVSN (pronounced division) performed next and although he only had a DJ, he impressed the crowd with his emotionally charged vocals. DVSN was very appreciative of the audience (especially the ladies) and he gave them what they wanted with songs like Too Deep and covers of songs by Usher (You Got It Bad) and Ginuwine (So Anxious).
Living legend Raphael Saadiq took the stage next. His set lasted about an hour and he absolutely killed it! He did a nice job of mixing it up classic Tony Toni Tone hits like It Never Rains in California with songs like Still Ray from his classic album Instant Vintage. Saadiq also reminded the attentive and enthusiastic crowd of his talent as a producer as well, by performing a nice medley of hits he produced for other artists like Solange (Cranes In The Sky), D’Angelo (How Does It Feel), and Total (Kissing You).
Jhene Aiko was next to perform and she received a lot of love from the crowd throughout her 50 minute set. Aiko not only has a uniquely beautiful voice, she writes a lot of her own songs as well. Her lyrics definitely reflect the experiences of lot of ladies in the audience, as many sang several of her songs word for word. Highlights of Jhene’s set were the songs The Worst from her EP Sail Out and Sativa from her album Trip.
One of the best soul singers in the game, Anthony Hamilton was the headliner and closed out the festival. Anthony, backed by The Hamiltones, made sure the the audience felt EVERY song he performed during his set. Anthony extended several songs to get the crowd (especially the ladies) in the mood. Highlights of Hamilton’s performance included an amazing rendition of one of his most popular songs, Charlene and he closed out the show with a very appropriate go-go version of his hit Cool, and the crowd went crazy…a great example of an artist knowing his audience.
