Wale: Under A Blue Moon Tour Review
Wale is an artist deserving of his flowers. Since he arrived on the scene, he’s mastered providing fans with an intricate sense of wordplay paired with some of the more mesmerizing harmonies in Hip-Hop. A thorough hit-maker, Wale’s musicianship has played a massive role in some of the biggest records in the past decade. While it’s no secret the Washington, D.C. native has been an under-appreciated asset in music, that doesn’t negate the impact & influence he’s had through the years.
The last stop of the star’s ‘Under A Blue Moon’ Tour took place in Silver Spring, MD at the historic, Fillmore. Approximately 15 minutes outside of the nation’s capitol, this homecoming concert was an ode to the glory we’ve witnessed from one of the smoothest souls in Hip-Hop.
Nostalgia is the perfect word to describe the night. Wale’s catalog is timeless and that’s the beauty of his artistry. From the early days of Attention Deficit and mixtapes such as The Mixtape About Nothing, his ties to Rick Ross’ MMG label, stellar feature run and more, the crowd was heavily involved. You would have thought ‘The Breakup Song’ was a recent release the way the crowd recited every lyric back to him. Hit records ‘Lotus Flower Bomb’ & ‘Diced Pineapples’ formulated into momentous moments with the audience in full acapella.
His latest album, Folarin II performs very well live. The bounce of ‘Poke It Out‘, the melodies of ‘Caramel’ ringing in your ears and the audience interaction of ‘Dearly Beloved’ were a few concert highlights directly from the album. Wale’s setlist was the perfect combination of historic records and his present-day catalog.
Wale commanded the sold-out crowd with a simple stage design, handing out flowers at any instance. Meanwhile, his presence was felt through the entire room. He paid homage to his city with portions of the night filled with Go-Go runs and joyous rants about what the DMV means to him. He even ushered on stage the legendary, Angie-Ange, formerly from 93.9 WKYS who has been one of the most important voices for the DMV region for many years.
Towards the end of the show, he prompted praise to his team who assisted in the process of the tour while also penning an open letter to the fans. His words of grace and compassion about being a creator resonated through the building and left many feeling inspired.
There aren’t many gracious acts like the generational talent who is Wale. The energy and ambiance of this concert was radiant and an amazing way to kick off the concert season. If you have a chance to see him in Dallas, TX on March 30th for “WALEMANIA” you should take the opportunity to do so. We look forward to all that is next for the legendary Wale.
