by Daniel Harris
Photos by Tameka Harris
Great music doesn't start with musicianship, vocal abilities and stage presence. Great music starts when an artist produces music that is true to who they are as people, not cogs in the music business factory. This past Saturday, PJ Morton once again showed Baltimore why he truly makes great music.
The Baltimore Soundstage played host to an incredible night of music and good vibes as the New Orleans born soul singer electrified the crowd with his candid lyrics, crisp musical style and engaging showmanship.
What was most interesting about this mini tour PJ Morton is on, with New York and Washington, DC as the other cities he blessed this weekend, is the addition of an up and coming talent to his opening act for each of the weekend's concerts.
Many may recognize J. Drew as the brother of gospel artist Kierra Sheard and the production genius behind much of her work. Deciding to test the waters as a frontman, J. Drew took the stage for only the second time in his very short solo career (with his first show being the previous night in New York.)
J. Drew has the musicianship (his band blazed!), he has the vocal abilities (he's from the Clark Dynasty, you'd be a fool to expect anything less!) and some stage presence (it was his second show and the newbie jitters showed through at times.); However, he lacked depth in his songwriting. This should be prefaced by saying there is no expectation for J. Drew to do Gospel. As a musician and artist, he should find his path in the music business.
J. Drew's set was filled with a lot of mediocre, "flavor of the month" lyrical content and colloquialisms, with constant requests to "turn up." Personal sidebar: If that term were to die right now, it wouldn't be the worst thing that ever happened.
Perhaps a bright spot for the young artist, he has potential. With more development and finding his lane in the business, J. Drew could be your new favorite artist.
As the moment approached for PJ Morton to take the stage, it was very hard to tell what exactly he would give the audience. A true music industry non-conformist, PJ definitely values artistry over industry, making the anticipation of his performance all the more exciting. And don't for one second think that his recent signing to Young Money has changed him or his music!
Watching his same showmanship mastery, listening to him perform songs from his new album New Orleans and still being able to hear the PJ fans know and love, watching the audience being moved by every chord played and note sang, still being able to feel and connect with each and every song; You leave with the sense that PJ Morton will "always be."
To see more photos from the show click HERE and become a fan of Gypsy Soul on Facebook!
1 comments:
Great recap...I love the way PJ stays true to music and love of the CRAFT itself. He's a rare gem and a breath of fresh air in this world of monotonous, robotic, uninspiring, unimaginative "music". I was so excited to attend the show in NYC and if truth be told if I could I would have made my way to Bmore just to see him do it all over again. THAT'S just how good he is. 3 days later and I'm still on a musical high. That's the mark of a TRUE artist...
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