The last time Stevie Wonder performed in Minnesota was in 2016 after Prince had passed. He played a four-hour Prince tribute jam with multiple guest artists. It was a historic event, however much somber that the show performed at The Target Center in Minneapolis on October 27th.
Stevie’s current 10-date tour is called “Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” a pre-election day tour that has visited many battleground states. The soul/R&B icon has a full orchestra, a horn section, three drummers, half a dozen backup singers, a couple of guitar players, and a few camera folks running around, catching everything for everyone to see on a massive big screen center stage.
The night started with two of Stevie’s children leading the 74-year-old to the keyboard. Daughter Aisha Morris and Son Kwame Morris stood by his side as Stevie made the introductions with a message of love and peace and encouraged folks to vote! Stevie referred back to his last time performing in Minnesota, stating how much he misses Prince and how he can feel his energy with him.
The two-and-a-half show started with Stevie’s new single, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” followed by “As if You Read My Mind” and “Master Blaster”. “Higher Ground” then got things moving as the almost sold-out crowd danced and sang along. Between songs, Stevie was quite chatty and a bit of a comedian. He told stories before songs about how he wrote them and his inspirations, including living in Detroit. He also joked about needing new glasses cause he can’t see well, along with another chuckle about driving?
Stevie had the crowd engaged the entire show. Before singing “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life,” he got the crowd to sing “You are my sunshine.” It was playful and fun. Stevie played a few more hits, ‘For Once In My Life,” “Signed Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” My Cherie Amour” and “Overjoyed” before stating he needed to rest his throat with some tea. Before leaving, he mentioned the importance of voting and said, “As for our next president, I hope “she” puts art back in school.” He said the Minnesota orchestra was wonderful; we need more of that.
While Stevie was resting, his singer protégé, Shelea Melody McDonald, performed a few of her songs, including a beautiful cover of Carol Kings’ “You Got a Friend.” Before his return, the band and backup singers got the crowd ready with a hometown favorite by the purple one: “1999”!
Stevie returned with a new yellow outfit and same black beret. He sang, “Don’t you worry about a thing”, with Shelea and they both playfully danced on stage. Stevie then dedicated, “Loves in the need of Love today” to the George Floyd Family. Stevie told another story about song inspirations from Detroit before busting out “Village Ghetto Land” and “Living for the City.”
The emotions swirled as Stevie dedicated “Isn’t She Lovely” to all the children, moms, his daughter, and sons. Afterward, he encouraged the crowd to spend 10 seconds loving each other before starting, “I just called to say I love you.” The hits kept coming with the megahit Superstition, and just when it seemed the show was ending, Stevie repeated, “We’re running outta time!” as the backup singers started, “My eyes don’t cry.” With the clock running out, “Do I Do” started, followed by “Another Star,” and folks began to trickle out.
Overall, it was a therapeutic evening filled with love and hope as Stevie’s voice is a true gift we should continue to cherish.
Photos by Billy Briggs
2 Responses
Fantastic show and fantastic review.
Stevie is a national treasure✌🏻
Excellent review, Billy! Love the photos!