Live music took an unexpected hiatus at the top of the Coronavirus pandemic keeping artists from intimately connecting with fans and snatching away a favorite pastime of music lovers. In the middle of 2021, during somewhat of a downturn in COVID-19 concerns, live music events began making their way back to stages across the country. Now, emboldened by tighter restrictions, vaccine policies and an incredible desire to once again commune in this manner, 2022 is slated to host a robust comeback of concerts, with some of our all-time faves resuming their thrones under the hot stage lights.
Here are all of the concerts we’re looking forward to attending this year.
1. D Smoke: War & Wonders Tour
Ever since gaining national attention by way of Netflix’s 2019 limited competition series Rhythm + Flow, rapper D Smoke has experienced some major music highs. The 36-year-old former high school Spanish teacher’s rise to prominence included two Grammy nods and a highly-favored debut album, Black Habits, in 2020. Now, he’s headed out on the limited War & Wonders tour, which begins this month in California, and will see him hit stages across the country through the top of February.
2. The Fugees' Rescheduled Reunion Tour
The internet was ablaze with excitement when Lauryn Hill, Pras and Wyclef Jean
announced the Fugees 2021 reunion tour. However, as Blavity previously reported, the trio postponed the already-in-progress tour back in October due to COVID-19 concerns. The reunion is set to kick off this March in Chicago and make its way through all of the rescheduled dates before embarking on an international leg. With more than 22 million records sold worldwide, the biggest-selling hip-hop group of all time is sure to deliver high levels of nostalgia to concert-thirsty audiences and lifelong fans alike.
3. Jodeci: The Culture Tour
Speaking of reunions, can we get a collective “Ooh Yeah,” because Jodeci is officially reunited! In celebration of this, K-Ci Hailey, Jojo Hailey, DeVante Swing and Mr. Dalvin aka the four bad boys of R&B will be joining some OG crooners of the genre, New Edition and Charlie Wilson, for The Culture Tour. The 30-city tour will begin in Georgia in mid-February, with New Edition, set to feature all six members, headlining the concert series. Jodeci will serve as special guests and Wilson is slated to perform in select cities as noted.
4. Tyler, The Creator: Call Me If You Get Lost Tour
With a cult following and a pocket full of hits, Tyler, The Creator’s upcoming tour featuring Kali Uchis, Vince Staples and Teezo Touchdown is going to slap across America starting in February with a show in Phoenix. In celebration of his album, Call Me If You Get Lost, the Grammy Award-winning rapper and producer will also embark on an international leg beginning this summer in Europe.
5. Jazmine Sullivan: The Heaux Tales Tour
While she might not exactly make a “heaux” out of you, Jazmine Sullivan will certainly have you singing about it to the rafters. After riding on the immense success of her album Heaux Tales, Sullivan surprised fans by announcing an accompanying tour. It’s her first full tour since 2015 and that’s likely why tickets immediately became scarce. While her album blasted the charts, the ever-talented songstress made an even larger cultural impact at The 2021 Soul Train Awards when she accepted a bevy of awards. She also used her moment to give fans an intimate look into her life during a heartfelt speech that addressed body image and self-compassion. The Philadelphia native will kick off her 2022 tour this February in Vancouver, Canada.
6. Lucky Daye: CandyDrip Tour
The artist formerly known as David Brown may have had a rocky start cracking into the music industry; but, after taking a backseat post his American Idol experiences as a teenager, the rebranded singer has been climbing charts, racking up award nominations and collaborating with some of music's heaviest hitters like Babyface and Earth, Wind & Fire. Now, Lucky Daye is set to release his second full-length studio album, CandyDrip, and embark on his first solo tour since his limited run following the release of his 2019 debut album, Painted. The native New Orleanian and Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, who has been known to discuss how he once performed in his hometown for fewer than ten people, has already sold out multiple tour stops since announcing the run on his social media channels back in December. The tour begins in Portland, Oregon, in March.
7. Femme It Forward
Your mama’s favorite girls are linking up for a femme-tastic limited tour beginning this March. Building upon an astonishing 2021 series, this year’s Femme it Forward boasts a three-show run by Faith Evans, SWV and Mya. The overall concert series features several artists doing a variety of limited runs. Aside from the aforementioned show, there will be concerts by Teyana Taylor and Queen Naija; Tank, Ginuwine, Lloyd and Bobby V; Serenade, Eric Benet and Avant; Tank and the Bangas and Big Freedia; and Flo Milli among other performances to take place across the country throughout the year. According to its website, Femme it Forward is a joint venture with Live Nation Entertainment serving as a female-led music company centered on women's empowerment.
8. Maxwell: The Night Tour
While Maxwell might be an all-time classic fave, his reemergence as an industry legend makes his 2022 tour all the more exciting. The highly-lauded crooner will be crisscrossing America on The Night Tour along with Anthony Hamilton and Joe starting in March through early May. The “Bad Habits” singer was recently given the high honor of the Living Legend Award at the 2021 Soul Train Awards, an opportunity he took to acknowledge his roots as a Black artist of Caribbean descent. He then performed his mega hits to remind fans that he is truly “Sumthin Sumthin.”
9. All of the Festivals
Festival season sure has a nice to ring to it. Although many of the music festivals we love did take place during the uncertainty of the pandemic, several went virtual or were canceled altogether. This year is teasing the return of some fan favorites like Essence Festival of Culture and Roots Picnic. Also set to take place this year is AfroPunk, Rolling Loud, Made in America, Hot 97 Summer Jam and Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. As these events will primarily run over the summer, details are still limited on acts, tickets and even actual dates, but festival fans should get their ticket-buying fingers ready. Surely after two years off or at limited capacities, these festivals are set to come back swinging plenty of moments made in FOMO purgatory.
Of course, there will be more concerts to pop up throughout the year, so consider this list an intro to all of the excitement we’ve been reserving for the full return of live music. One thing is for sure, we can’t wait to get dressed up, head out the house and clear our throats for a bevy of amazing evenings singing along with our absolute faves. Happy concert-going, Fam!
