Jazmine Sullivan brought her long awaited Heaux Tales Tour to The Fillmore New Orleans. After postponing the show’s original date a month prior due to sickness, she was able to return and put on a show that was well worth the wait.
From before the time doors were set to open, fans were already lined up outside the venue waiting to get in. The Fillmore’s lobby was filled with early entry VIP package holders singing Jazmine’s older hits while they waited. As soon as doors opened, they rushed in, in hopes of getting a spot closest to the stage and the best view of the show.
At 8pm, the show began. Maeta, a new artist who most recently toured with H.E.R. on the Back Of My Mind Tour, opened for Jazmine. She performed some of her original songs including “Bitch Don’t Be Mad,” “Baby Girl,” as well as covers of popular songs like Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open.”
After her set, the stage was switched over to prepare for the now GRAMMY Award winning Jazmine Sullivan. Screens showed a video montage of Jazmine while audios of voicemails from her loved ones looking for her played over them. She then sauntered on to the stage to a venue filled with screams wearing an all black catsuit and black leather floor length trench with dark sunglasses singing the album’s intro “Bodies” before transitioning into “Bust Your Windows” asking “Where all my crazy heauxs at?!” She captivated the audience from the very beginning.
This show comes just days after she won her first ever Grammys - Best R&B Album for “Heaux Tales” and Best R&B Performance for “Pick Up Your Feelings.” She told the crowd that “more important than those Grammys is that I can come here and sing with you.”
The rest of her set included songs from Heaux Tales like “Put It Down”, “Pricetags” and her popular collab with H.E.R. “Girl Like Me,” as well as some from the more recent deluxe version of the album.
At one point she sat on a stool at center stage backed by her guitarist as she sang in way that transported you out of the crowded venue and in to what felt like an intimate lounge experience - almost reminiscent of Unplugged performances from the late ‘90s. She sang “In Love With Another Man” and delivered every note with absolute perfection. Her runs and vocal choices are incomparable with ad-libs that take you to church.
She introduced her background singers, also powerhouse vocalists, who carried the show singing a medley from artists like Summer Walker and SZA while Jazmine disappeared off stage for a quick change.
When she returned, after losing the trench in favor of a cropped jacket, she threw it back to some of her older songs performing “Brand New” and “Insecure” which took Instagram by storm last year with its riff challenge. She held the mic out to the audience to perform the ending run before pulling back laughing “Ok, y’all been practicing huh?”
She carried on with the Ari Lennox assisted “On It” before her background vocalists surrounded her as she sat at the corner of the stage performing “BPW” from the chair. She laughed confessing that she had to tell us a secret, and that this song was about her.
“It’s so good, it’s been 10 years and he still calling me,” she said. “It’s so good, that his new girl, looks like his ex girl, who looks like ME!”
She threw it back to her older hits once more with “Let It Burn” before closing out the show with “Need You Bad.” She thanked everyone for coming out and said good night before exiting the stage. Cheers of “Jazmine! Jazmine!” erupted throughout the room. She then returned for her encore to perform the Grammy Award winning “Pick Up Your Feelings.”
The Heaux Tales Tour has come to an end, but Jazmine will return to New Orleans this summer as part of Essence Festival on 4th of July Weekend.
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