Back Home Tour

What is a concert without that nostalgic feeling you get when leaving? That feeling that makes you want to just stay in the venue forever? Despite the difficulties, it's the job of performing artists to keep the atmosphere alive, entertaining fans the whole time. Fortunately, Hip hop rapper Saba, along with his additional opening artist, did exactly that and beyond, on his Back Home Tour.

The show opened with rapper Joseph Chiiliams who struck the stage with his fun dance moves, immediately engaging the crowd. Joseph performed a few songs, including his song “Rick James”, to the crowd's obvious enjoyment, who loved his set and his skilled working of the spotlight. The crowd went from cheering, to laughing, to copying his swaying hip dances, back to cheering again. Despite the fact that Joseph's set was short, starting off the concert with his set was an amazing idea because it definitely did leave the crowd wanting more of him.

Following up was R&B/Soul artist Amindi. Amindi's soulful music instantly filled the venue with a peaceful yet lively aura with her incredible voice. Most of her songs mainly cater towards Black women, so screaming along to her lyrics felt particularly amazing, as a Black woman myself. Not to mention, the confidence boost! She performed songs from her album “Nice” including her hit song “Telly”. Another element that added excitement to her set was her DJ. He came onto stage with outstanding DJ skills and such electric energy, naturally making the crowd intrigued to see the next performer. It was fun to see how engaged he was with Amindi during the set while still doing his job as a DJ. 

The last opener was Chicago Rapper Femdot, who took the crowd by surprise. He had everyone jumping the whole time which is the best way to wake up the crowd, despite many people in the crowd being unfamiliar with his music. He performed a diverse set of songs which included songs from his recent album “Not for Sale”.  I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who became a fan of Femdot by the time his set was over. I really admired his stage presence because you could really sense the passion through his performance. 

After all the openers were complete, it was finally time for Saba to hit the stage. Saba’s setlist included a variety of songs from his recent album, “Few Good Things” as well as songs from older albums. By then fans were antsy to have him on stage and Saba delivered the exact energy the crowd was hoping for. It was hard to feel any sense of tiredness as his performance refilled everyone’s tank. I loved how Saba incorporated the tour theme, bringing the fans “back home” by setting up a bus stop from his hometown of Chicago on stage. He explained the importance of this bus stop and how it played a part in his music.

Each of these artists individually complemented each other as a whole, which must be why the concert and tour was so successful. There wasn’t a bored face in the whole crowd, people were brimming with energy and seemed thrilled to be there the whole time. I can confidently say that it was the most fun I've had at a concert and what made it even better was to see that everyone else around me was having a blast as well.

~ Written by: Saliema Maki