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Venue

Huntington Bank Arena

375 East Main St., 38804, Tupelo, MS, US

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Additional details

Doors open: 20:00

Concert in your area for Funk & Soul, R&B, and Hip-Hop.

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Anthony Hamilton biography

Born on 28 January 1971, Anthony Cornelius Hamilton is an American R&B singer from Charlotte, North Carolina. Hamilton has sold over 19.6 million albums, counting both independent and collaborative efforts.

Anthony Hamilton’s music career has its beginnings in the gospel choir at church he used to sing in since he was 10 years old. Having signed with label Uptown Recordsin 1993, Hamilton moved to New York to pursue music. He was a backup singer on tour for artist D’Angelo’s album “Voodoo” and subsequently collaborated with southern rap group Nappy Roots on albums “Watermelon, Chicken, and Grits,” “Wooden Leather,” and “The Humdinger.” The collaboration on single “Po’ Folks” won them a Grammy nomination for “Best Rap/Sung Collaboration” in 2003.

Hamilton signed with label So So Def Imprint by Jermaine Dupri and came out with an independent album called “Comin’ From Where I’m From” in 2003. The album went platinum and features the single “Charlene.” His sophomore album, entitled “Ain’t Nobody Worryin” was released in 2005 with successful single “Can’t Let Go” and the album became certified gold.

Hamilton has collaborated with numerous R&B artists, even snagging a duet for "Buon Natale" with Nat King Cole on his holiday album. In 2007, Hamilton had a cameo role as a singer in the film “American Gangster” and also contributed to the soundtrack. He sang “Freedom” with Elayna Boynton on the soundtrack for Quentin Tarantino film “Django Unchained” in 2012.

Leela James biography

Leela James is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter originally from Illinois who has been active as a musician since 2003.

The young songstress has a voice beyond her years and is hailed by critics as a soul revival. She includes artists such as James Brown, Roberta Flack, Toni Braxton, Mavis Staples, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway as influences whilst her vocal abilities and tones are often likened to Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner. Her debut album 'A Change Is Gonna Come' was praised for its rich, gravelled tone incorporating traditional soul techniques with contemporary genres such as R & B and funk. It included collaborations with Raphael Saadiq and Kanye West.

She is wise beyond her years when it comes to lyricism too, she has an elevated view of the music industry and often condemns the glorification of materialism and misogyny in popular R & B and pop music. She is a firm believer that artists should rely on the credibility of their music and be rewarded for these similarly to how they were in former decades. She released her second album 'Let's Do It Again' through Shanachie Records and the title is a homage to one of her noted influencers, The Staple Sisters. It was far more commercially successful in the States that the debut, peaking at #84 on the US albums chart and #11 on the R & B chart.

That year she received two prestigious award nominations, one from the NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Artist category and another from the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist. With this elevated critical acclaim and notoriety, her third album 'My Soul' sold even better than its predecessor. It peaked at #37 on the US charts and broke the top 10 on the R & B chart. After this Leela decided to release a cover album in tribute to one of her favourite artists, Etta James, and critics praised the beautiful re-imagination of the iconic singer's most popular hits.

Live reviews

Anthony Hamilton has one of the most soulful and angelic voices in the R&B genre and seeing one of his live performances is almost like a religious experience.
During his performances he is usually backed by a myriad of talented musicians and sometimes even a full orchestra. There are horns, woodwinds, cellos, and violins that gracefully play atmospheric warm tones creating an emotive soundscape for Anthony Hamilton to belt out his soulful voice that makes the audience raise their hands and sway to the music. When an orchestra backs Anthony Hamilton, the orchestra usually crescendos up to the apex of an emotive experience and Anthony Hamilton’s voice rises above the loud sound of the orchestra to demonstrate his passion and vocal force.
During more traditional performances Anthony Hamilton tours with a backing band consisting of a keyboarder, a drummer, a guitarist, a bass player, and several backup singers. The backup singers act as a choir singing the soulful harmonies of the music while Anthony Hamilton acts as a religious focal point preaching his gospel with his soulful, charismatic voice. The keyboard player performs on a keyboard that has a smooth bell like sound and plays very vibrant jazz like chords laying down a smooth vibe. Anthony Hamilton has a wide vocal range, jumping up and down octaves hitting the most difficult notes imaginable, and soulfully breaking into a melisma that will have everyone in awe.
Anthony Hamilton has a great stage presence dressing in suave clothing and a fashionable fedora. He gracefully struts around the stage and dances in the smoothest way that will have the audience fully engaged. To hear Anthony Hamilton’s deep, rich voice grace the presence of your bare ear in a live setting is one of the most inspirational experiences that music has to offer.

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Leela James is more than just your average R&B singer. Not only does she have an incredible voice, but she lives every lyric that leaves her lips.
The Los Angeles singer brought that power and emotion when she celebrated the release of her fifth album, ‘Fall for You,’ at B.B. King’s Blues Club & Grill in New York City. With a large band to back her up and two singers to add their harmonies to hers, she brought down the house with ‘Good Time’ and ‘Something’s Got a Hold on Me’ and inspired a dance party at the venue. From her high kicks and dropping down to the ground, Leela showed that she’s not afraid to really get into the music. Her dynamics onstage were full of so much energy that she had to go barefoot toward the end of her set. It looked like the spirit of James Brown overtook her and possessed her to go wild on stage.
What made the show even more memorable is her constant interaction with her fans who came from all over the world. Not only did she bring them up onstage to start a dance party, but she even jumped down to the crowd, stood on a chair during ‘Simply Beautiful’ and serenaded the loyalists, who knew just about every word to the song.
In the past, R&B shows were chilled out and mellow (sometimes to the point of boredom). However after seeing Leela’s gig, it revived my interest in seeing more soul singers live. Sure, they usually sing about love, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get down and boogie whilst doing it.

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