Leon Thomas has been on his grind for years, but the stars have aligned for him in 2025. The talented multi-hyphenate is enjoying the massive success of his single “MUTT,” his hit album MUTT, its deluxe edition MUTT Deluxe: HEEL, his brand-new EP PHOLKS and several high-profile features. His hard work has been rewarded with six GRAMMY nominations — the most of any R&B artist this year — including Album of the Year and Best New Artist. Thomas is unstoppable right now, so it’s no wonder that when he announced his Mutts Don’t Heel Tour, tickets to shows across the U.S. and Canada sold out with the quickness.
DMV fans love Leon Thomas so much that a second show was added, which sold out as well. The energy was electric inside The Fillmore Silver Spring on Sunday, November 16th for the first night of his two-night stand. The evening kicked off with a set by Ambré, his opening act for the North American leg of this world tour.
The New Orleans-based singer-songwriter and guitarist took the stage accompanied by her drummer. Ambré delivered a solid performance during her 30-minute set, which included the smooth ballad “I’m Baby” from her EP 3000°.
The packed crowd began to buzz in anticipation of Leon’s arrival when the house lights dimmed and his band assembled on stage. Moments later, they got their wish as he appeared and proceeded to perform “HOW FAST,” “DANCING WITH DEMONS” and “FAR FETCHED” from MUTT. After the first song, Thomas picked up his guitar and rocked out, even falling to his knees while playing his axe on “DANCING WITH DEMONS.” He settled in nicely and performed four more songs from MUTT to round out the first 30 minutes of his set.
Leon next focused on songs from PHOLKS and sang the up-tempo cuts “My Muse” and “Just How You Are,” and the crowd continued to match his energy. He then slid over to his debut album Electric Dusk and rocked “Blue Hundreds.” He followed that up with “Aquarius” — an early song that he released in 2014 — and “Baccarat” from PHOLKS. All three of these songs allowed him to demonstrate his stellar guitar skills.
He switched up and slowed things down for the next segment as he performed “Sneak,” “Slow Down” and “Love Jones” from Electric Dusk. For this sexy portion of his show, he made sure to perform the extremely popular MUTT track “YES IT IS” and even incorporated a few bars from Floetry’s “Say Yes.”
Thomas next brought up DMV hip-hop legend Wale to their two collaborations — MUTT’s “FEELINGS ON SILENT” and “Watching Us” from Wale’s new album everything is a lot. The audience was going bananas by this point in the show, and both artists felt the love.
After Wale departed, Leon circled back to Electric Dusk with “Crash & Burn,” “Treasure In The Hills” and “Breaking Point” before moving into MUTTS Deluxe: HEEL cut “NOT FAIR.” With the crowd sufficiently worked up, it was time for the grand finale of Leon’s approximately 90-minute set. He thanked his fans and told them that this song changed his life before giving the people what they waited all night for and performing “MUTT.”
- Advertisement -Vibes don’t lie, and the vibes are high on the Mutts Don’t Heel Tour. Leon Thomas delivers an exciting live show with music that appeals to a wide range of tastes. If you like your R&B with an edge, he’s got you covered. Tickets to his sold-out shows are hard to come by, but the North American leg of the Mutts Don’t Heel Tour ends in late December before resuming in 2026 in Europe and Australia.
