R&B is my favorite genre and since I love a good show and Kenyon Dixon as an artist you have to know how excited I was to see he was going on tour. Now here’s the thing, his DC show is on July 22nd but I will be in Costa Rica with my mom so I was going to miss it but I still wanted to see him. I found out that he had a Charlotte show on July 17th so I debated and contemplated and because I love his music so much and know that this show would be phenomenal, I bought a ticket. I then debated and contemplated back and forth as to if I should get the meet and greet and figured if I’m going to go all the way to Charlotte and my flight arrives early in the afternoon it’s worth it to get it so I did (the price was reasonable unlike other meet and greets and in total came up to about $128).

     Of course before booking I took a look at what flight prices were like and was able to snag cheap tickets (one on Frontier and one on Southwest) so I figured I’d treat myself to a concert experience out of town. I booked it and I was excited and concert day is finally here. I flew out from BWI this morning around 11am with Frontier ($26 one way) to CLT and arrived close to 1pm. My plan was to spend a good few hours at the airport (which I did) and because the meet and greet time was 5:30pm I’d leave the airport close to 4pm and Uber to a nearby restaurant to get food and then walk from there.

     I decided to grab a bite to eat at Jackbeagle’s and got something simple like Hawaiian Honey chicken tenders and waffle fries (the tenders were fried perfectly). I took my last few tenders to go and walked literally down the street and around the corner to the Neighborhood Theatre where there were only a few people waiting outside for the meet and greet. We snapped photos outside the venue and his tour manager Lauren came and got us when doors opened.

     Inside we waited in the waiting area as Lauren got to know everyone and where we were from. She interviewed people from the area as well as those that traveled to attend the show one being me. We were escorted onto the venue floor inside where Kenyon was doing sound check. We observed for a few minutes and then got a chance to ask some questions which was good. I always love hearing personal stories and inspiration from different artists. Once the Q&A was done we took a group photo and then individual photos.

     The meet and greet was now over and it was 15 minutes to 7pm when doors would open for the show and a line could be seen outside forming. At 7pm we were allowed to take some seats on the floor (it’s been so long since I’ve gone to a show like this that has seats but thank God because I’m older and need to sit lol). One of the crew just told us not to sit in the middle but we could sit on the right or left side. I opted for the left side on the end closer to the middle 2nd row because I liked the angle better.

     Before the show outside on the poster was where I saw there would be an opener Jack Freeman. However, before Jack there was an R&B Karaoke portion in which 3 ladies sang old school R&B songs and they did great (I think the last girl was more popular by applause). It wasn’t a packed house but Charlotte can sing and knows how to party and have a good time because the crowd was singing and dancing like we were at a family reunion (I could party with them anytime). And one thing I feel the need to mention not a sniff of weed was smelled (thank God, it stinks).

     When it was time for Jack Freeman he sang about five of his songs and I felt déjà vu like I had heard them before (they were all good by the way but I really liked the “Lips” song) but it’s possible that I heard them during soundcheck. I now follow him on Instagram and will be adding his songs to a playlist tonight. Hailing from Houston, TX his stage presence and voice was great as he got the crowd involved.

     The set music in-between encompassed some old R&B and the crowd got excited when Kenyon came out. We stood, sang and danced as he performed song after song. I was surprised the place wasn’t packed or sold out but honestly that made it much more enjoyable because it was more intimate and we had space to move and dance around. There may not have been a lot of us but there was enough and we had a good time. The group in the middle in the front consisted of mostly guys and they knew almost every song word for word and they were such a vibe.

     I don’t think I realized it before but Kenyon said he was an independent artist (I thought he was under a major label). I definitely think he is an underrated artist and he reminds me of a younger Eric Roberson (who I love). At one point in the show he brings out a chair and asks any lady to come up and join him. He picked a girl from the crowd and she sat in the chair as he sang and worked (walked) his way around her. It was a cute and exciting moment for her and I liked her outfit.

     I like when artists share information with us like what inspires a song, who their favorite artists are, their creative process, personal stories and more. After meeting Kenyon he seems very chill and down to earth (I guess I wasn’t expecting him to be so personable and relatable). For a smaller crowd our voices lifted in the audience and you could tell it didn’t matter how many people were there it was just the fact that people were there showing they care and they love the music. At one point Samoht came out and performed a song with Kenyon and it felt like church up in there. Kenyon finished out the night with songs from different albums and I felt full and satisfied as a fan leaving.

     Making the trip to Charlotte was worth it and around 10:50pm the show wrapped and I called an Uber to come and take me to the airport. Charlotte, what are you doing at the airport? My ride to the airport was supposed to be 22 minutes and it took over an hour to get there and most of that time was at/near the airport due to traffic. My plan was to get there, eat my chicken, get a drink, find a spot to chill in, do my post/writeup and go to sleep.

     I should’ve known by traffic what the inside would look like (there was barely an open chair). Just to see I looked at the departures board and that’s when I saw it, my Southwest flight back expected to leave at 7:05am was now delayed to 10:30am (talk about pissed)! I was ok with staying in the airport for about six hours but not ten! Not only that, but now I will arrive back outside of shuttle times and past my parking time so I’ll be charged another day and will need to Uber there now (cusses under my breath). And to top it all off, I’m supposed to be at work at 1pm and now I’m going to be late because it’s near home so there’s the drive home and then I would need to go home first so I’m going to have to call out, and just not go to work today.

     I’m definitely getting a Southwest voucher for this inconvenience and what makes it bad is I chose Southwest over an American flight, meanwhile the American flight is still on time so they can’t blame the weather. I’m not playing with these airlines and after having worked for one I know what I’m entitled to as a passenger when things like this happen. It’s always something it seems like but one things for sure I need to get home tomorrow because I still need to pack for Costa Rica which I leave for in now less than 24 hrs. Despite the getting back headache I’m glad I came still.

     I assume their must have been a lot of cancelled flights since the airport was so crowded early this morning. The TSA general line was insane (I heard someone say they’ve never seen it so long). As I sit by my departing gate I now have just shy of five hours left before we leave. I’ve already called out of work so hopefully I can get back, get some sleep, wash clothes and pack and then it’s onward to Dulles for Costa Rica. (I have already spoken to a Soithwest agent about a voucher ((they provided me the information so I followed up already and I’m not accepting no as an answer)). R&B is not dead.