Gladys Knight, Stephanie Mills & Chaka Khan Hold Court In Baltimore On ‘The Queens Tour’

When the Black Promoters Collective announced The Queens Tour featuring Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle and Stephanie Mills, R&B and soul music fans across the country let out a collective gasp to express both shock and delight at the opportunity to see multiple living legends perform on the same bill. The tour proved to be such a draw that weeks after the initial announcement, a second round of dates was added for later this year. One of the cities that the ladies stopped through on the first leg of the tour was Baltimore where they graced the stage at CFG Bank Arena. 

The only downside to the Baltimore show was that Patti LaBelle was not performing due to a previous commitment. Ms. Patti was missed, but the remaining three icons more than held it down.

Gladys Knight was the first legend to perform, and she was accompanied by her six-piece band and three background singers. Dressed to impress in a stunning red pant suit, Knight wasted no time getting the audience in the mood for a great night with “Taste Of Bitter Love,” from the Gladys Knight & The Pips’ stellar 1980 album About Love. Gladys then took the crowd even further back in time to 1973 to their album Imagination with the timeless classic “I’ve Got You Use My Imagination” before slowing it down with the beautiful ballad “You’re The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me.”

Although Gladys had a limited amount of time, she kept it moving and performed several more classics, including “Love Overboard,” “If I Were Your Woman,” “Neither One Of Us” and “Heard It Through The Grapevine.” She then switched gears and took the crowd to church with her cover of Donnie McClurkin’s soul-stirring gospel song “Stand.” Gladys then came back with a solo version of the GRAMMY Award-winning posse cut “That’s What Friends Are For,” originally recorded by Gladys, Dionne Warwick, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. Gladys closed out her impressive set with her signature song “Midnight Train To Georgia.” 

Within five minutes of Gladys Knight and her band exiting the stage, it rotated to make way for Stephanie Mills and her band who were ready to deliver. The band members were sharp, all dressed in matching silver sequined shirts. Stephanie’s son Farad Mills was amongst the background singers, and he enthusiastically introduced his mom. When Stephanie emerged from the shadows and walked towards the front of the stage, the crowd went wild.

The petite powerhouse looked incredible in a form-fitting, strapless, sequined blue dress that showed off her shoulders and figure. She started her set with her very first hit “What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin’,” the title cut from her third album released in 1979. Stephanie worked the stage and engaged the audience as she sang. 

Stephanie then transitioned into her 1987 banger “(You’re Puttin’) A Rush On Me” from her album If I Were Your Woman. Next up was “Something In The Way (You Make Me Feel)” from 1989’s Home album. Concertgoers across the arena stood up and sang along as they reminisced and got into the groove. Stephanie then slowed it down, hitting us with her certified classic “I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love,” written by Angela Winbush and Rene Moore. 

Mills kept it moving and grooving with “Never Knew Love Like This Before” before closing out her set with the soul-stirring “Home,” written by Charlie Smalls and sung by Stephanie in the original 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz. Although it has been recorded by many artists, Stephanie owns this song, and she and her background singers absolutely killed this performance. 

After dazzling sets from Ms. Knight and Ms. Mills, the enthusiastic crowd at CFG Bank Arena was more than ready to see the one and only Chaka Khan shut it down. Chaka has changed her show up a bit, adding a new guitarist and four dancers (two men and two women). Her band and dancers took to the stage first, and the crowd roared in anticipation of Chaka joining them. When she ultimately did, they went crazy and she got the party started with her hit remake of the Prince classic “I Feel For You.” 

Chaka has had an illustrious career, getting her start as the lead singer for Rufus before embarking on a tremendously successful solo career, and her 45-minute set embodied that. Her second song was the ever popular “Do You Love What You Feel,” from Rufus’ 1979 album Masterjam, which was produced by the legendary Quincy Jones. She next sang her mid-tempo jam “What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me” from her 1981 album of the same name. 

Chaka took a brief break and allowed her band and dancers to be out front as her club hit “Like Sugar” from her 2019 Hello Happiness album played. Khan reemerged with the iconic slow jam “Sweet Thing,” a song she co-wrote along with Tony Maiden from 1975’s Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan album. She kept a mellow vibe with her solo hits “Through The Fire” (from I Feel For You) and “My Funny Valentine,” which she recorded for the Waiting To Exhale soundtrack. The respected songstress demonstrated that her pipes are still working just fine during this part of her set.

Chaka closed things out with more iconic classics. She sang “Tell Me Something Good” (which featured a blazing guitar solo and Chaka playing a little air guitar), her anthem “I’m Every Woman” and the infectious funk of “Ain’t Nobody.” 

Though Baltimore missed Patti LaBelle’s presence, attendees more than got their money’s worth from Gladys Knight, Stephanie Mills and Chaka Khan. All three artists delivered impressive performances filled with a mind-blowing mix of classics and hits from their respective catalogs and had the audience open from the first song until the last.

With the spring leg of The Queens Tour complete and the fall half on the horizon, fans can rest assured that all the hype is real. The tour picks back up in September, so don’t miss your chance to see R&B and soul music royalty perform when they come to your city.