Ever since I heard the song “Leave it Smokin” I knew I wanted to see Tamia if I could because I love that song. Now I know Tamia has a range of hits so I figured it would be a good show and worth seeing. The only thing is she had no shows in DC, it was either Eagle Bank Arena in VA along with a few other groups or Tamia by herself in Baltimore, MD…I opted for the cheaper option and that was Baltimore. I did ask around this time to see if anyone wanted to come with and I got no tag alongs so alone I planned to go (which I’m totally alright with).

    So I made the drive to Baltimore on the day of show which surprisingly for the most part was a smooth ride with no real traffic. As I entered the city however I ran into a storm with thunder, lightning and rain. Parking was fairly easy to find and close to the venue which was good since I was not familiar with the area and this was my first time coming to this venue. Thankfully there was no line to get in and the crowd so far was light. First matter of business, hit up the bathroom so once I’m situated in my spot I don’t have to worry about moving and losing it.

    As I looked around I debated do I want to stay downstairs or go upstairs…I opted for downstairs. The venue on the inside is very similar to the 9:30 Club in DC. I got situated in the second row from the front on the floor to the left. What I appreciate is that the show started on time. The opening act it took me a while to figure who he was even though he introduced himself (I just couldn’t hear him). As soon as he said he was a singer/songwriter and that he wrote the song “Here” by Alessia Cara I knew it was Sebastian Kole (which he later confirmed). He threw out his social handles and I ironically am already friends with him on Instagram due to my post way back when, my very first post actually the one that started it all where I featured that song. (I like to think that I was one of the first few people to recognize the greatness of that song because when I heard it I knew it would be a hit). He also wrote Alessia’s song “Stars Are Beautiful”.

    I must say that he did a great job performing and sang some covers one of which was “Say Yes” by Floetry. That…is…my…song! There are some songs that are just classic that everyone loves and I know that’s one of them because the crowd went crazy. In a good way Sebastian reminds me of an R&B Rick Ross because he was swagged out on stage (“Came through drippin’, drip drip (lol)). He sang a few of his own songs which I grooved to and was interactive with the crowd. I enjoyed him as an opener and after the show I got a chance to tell him that I love the song “Here” and how I knew it was a hit the moment I heard it which was why it was one of my first blog posts (he seemed so humbled). Random Thought: Tamia reminds me of an older well put together Teairra Mari (sorry Teairra) and I believe they favor each other looks wise. Then it came time for Tamia to come out and let me tell you homegirl looks good! I loved her black outfit which was a high low sparkling black dress with a black belt and sparkling black boot heels. I don’t know how old Tamia is but I believe she’s been married to Grant Hill for some time but she looks so good.

    Song after song after song she sang and the ones that I knew I sang my heart out to. Live she sounds absolutely amazing and even proved it at one point when something happened to the sound (always is Baltimore, seriously Baltimore get it together). She sang a few songs acapella until the issue was solved and gave us all quite a show. Some of my favorite songs that she sang were “Leave It Smokin’”, “So Into You”, “Officially Missing You”, “You Put A Move On My Heart”, “Me”, “Can’t Get Enough” and of course the closing/encore song was “Stranger In My House”. She danced and sang and danced and sang all while hitting every note. Watching her gave me an appreciation for going to live shows and hearing songs performed live. The interaction makes the experience. Tamia performed for about an hour and a half and this show reminded me a lot of the Janet Jackson show I went to in Harrisburg, PA where I also left feeling fulfilled. I’m so happy that I decided to get a ticket to see her perform, it was well worth it.

    The next show I’m going to see will be Leon Bridges next week so stay tuned.