“I’m ready to get ‘Stoned!” someone shouted from the crowd. Fans eagerly awaited BlaqueStone’s to perform at Local 16 as a part of the fifth annual Funk Parade Music Fest.The first song the soulful music couple performed was their latest single “Sunny Days”. Donning gold-rimmed round glasses and an elegant green headwrap flawlessly coordinated with her Kente pants, Queen cooed, “There are sunny days ahead. Just keep going”. The gentleness in her voice enveloped you, reassuringly, almost as if she was singing a lullaby. The crowd was already sizable before the show began, but Queen drew dozens more into the intimate setting with her enchanting, jazzy voice. Nyne, the other half of BlaqueStone, blended his raps seamlessly with Queen’s singing. An unassuming guy, the flashiest thing about Nyne was his orange track pants.
BlaqueStone’s set felt like a jam session that the audience just so happened to be invited to. I was impressed that they spotlighted each musician in their live band, which consisted of a bassist, a keyboardist, and a percussionist. Each instrumentalist was allowed the space and time to flex their musical skills. The set also included BlaqueStone’s renditions of “Bag Lady” by Erykah Badu, “Lady” by D’Angelo, “Unpretty” by TLC, and “Fortunate” by Maxwell. As Nyne and Queen performed, you could see a genuine connection between them when they looked at each other – Black love personified. To conclude the set, Nyne pulled out the talk box for an electrifying performance of “The Right”, a track from BlaqueStone’s 2016 album AfroNoon.
After a brief intermission, FootsXColes took the stage. “Ok, I want everyone to take a few steps forward. I need to feel your energy,” Foots asserted. As the crowd stepped closer, I overheard someone say to their friend, “These guys are good! They just performed at the Kennedy Center,” in reference to FootsXColes’s performance with the ever so talented Alex Vaughn last week.
As a strobe light cast red, green, and blue tints over the room, FootsXColes set the mood with “Sin”, a mellow record with punchy percussion from their debut album A Beautiful Mistake. Tonight’s performance was unique because it was the first time a trumpet player was added to the live band. FootsXColes got the people going with their versions of “Love Come Down” by Evelyn “Champagne” King and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears. The crowd was still high on energy from those songs when Foots asked, “Are y’all ready to two-step?” Then, they went right into “Possibilities”, a fan-favorite from their latest album Sitting in Outer Space. The crowd was grooving as FootsXColes played a few other tunes on the album. After a stirring rendition of “Moonlight”, Foots and Coles invited everyone to come dance with them at another venue they were DJing at following the show. If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend that you check out a BlaqueStone or FootsXColes show. The good vibes they give out will leave you feeling euphoric.