Sugar Water Festival

Something about the environment tonight lends itself perfectly to the Sugar Water Festival. The way the sun is setting behind the stage. The gentle summer breeze that is winding through. I feel like I am at a really well soundtracked barbecue.

And the audience is the most chill I think I've been with outside of classical and jazz outings. Maybe it's the music. Queen Latifah, Jill Scott, & Erykah Badu don't exactly make abrasive music. Maybe it's the location. We are in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Lawn chairs and blankets abound. Some are laying down. Some are just straight up getting down. Whatever it is, it is refreshing. Balding middle age men stand next to mohawked black women as if it was the most natural thing. Incense and the smells of the overpriced grill waft together and all is just...well...it's cool.

I arrived just as Queen Latifah hit the stage. She just had this jovial energy that infected the crowd immediately. She began with a medley of her hip-hop hits then easily moved to her recent, more jazzy material. She said hi to everyone, graciously accepted a gift from a fan, and just had a genuinely good time. She finished off with a soulful rendition "U.N.I.T.Y." that had everyone moving in one way or another. I was surprised. I expected to be pretty bored during her set but she kept the level of intrigue up the whole time.

Jilly from Philly was up next and just basked in the love and returned a double portion. The control of her voice, even as she had sound problems, was phenomenal. Plus she did a lot of new stuff and combined with her old stuff, I found a new appreciation with her lyricism. She has to be one of those people who approximates what they're thinking into the music pretty accurately. She did a lot of new stuff too including her opener which I'll just call "Just Breathe". Eerything was great. She had the crowd eating out of her hand and was pure pure beauty. Everybody should see her.

Last but certainly not least was Erykah. Yeah we're just gonna call that wow. There's no way to separate what she did cause it was all this continuous funk explosion. I think if Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone could have had a child together, Erykah probably would have been the product. And George Clinton would have been the godfather. At times she played with a drum machine she had by the mic. She was all over the stage dancing and doing whatever she felt. She too did lots of new material including her opener which had the recurring theme of "Annie Ain't Got No Panties." She weaved through new and old including Danger, I Want You, On & ON, ...And On. And it all seemed too short. I had a slight headache all night due to my lack of sleep but her set really erased the thought from my mind. She was great. Actually excellent

All and all a positive night of hip-hop/funk/soul and all for the low low price of I can't remember. Till the next concert.

Adam Stone