Nightlife in Los Angeles can have you juggling multiple events that are nowhere in proximity to each other. On Wednesday (Oct. 2), we were triple-booked but felt called to attend the L.A. stop of André 3000’s New Blue Sun Tour at The Greek Theater in Hollywood. The intimate, outdoor venue was the ideal backdrop for the show as it embodied the serenity and calmness —amid the chaos of Hollywood— that André’s new era harkens. He is not the same man we once knew and that seems to be for the better.
Set under the stars, the show —which we’ve divided into two parts— started promptly at 8 p.m. with Sudan Archives as the opener. She was the curated portion of the show. Armed with her violin and two supporting instrumentalists, the self-taught musician graced the stage — commanding the attention of new and old fans as the crowd quietly trickled in from varying entry points.
As a newcomer to her music, we assumed her partially instrumental set would be completely devoid of lyrics. However, we were quickly proved wrong as the Cleveland native sang, “I want you to f**k me/ I want you to love me/ I want you to touch me/ Your finger up my p***y like a honey stick” from her 2022 single, “Milk Me.”
She cascaded through her catalog with live renditions of her hits including 2018’s “Nont for Sale” and 2019’s “Confessions” before previewing some new, vibrant singles. Her set wrapped exactly 45 minutes later and following a set change, it was time for the fluid nature of Three Stacks and his band.
As the arena grew dark, a booming voice came through the loudspeakers. “We are excited to share tonight with you as part of the New Blue Sun live tour,” the narrator declared as the crowd erupted with excitement and applause. “This collection of shows is without unsecured phones, so the musicians, audience and performance remain the focus and allow everyone to stay in the zone without cellphone distraction. Let’s have this unique time together in this moment. Please enjoy the show.”
The official start was far more subtle. It was soft like an evening breeze yet chilling. Regardless of whether you were among the millions of listeners who’ve streamed André’s solo debut since its November 2023 release or grew up with his music as an acclaimed emcee, no one could’ve predicted the route the show took. Time wasn’t of the essence. As clichéd as it may sound, the show was a vibe. There wasn’t a setlist. It was an array of sounds, moods (thanks to whoever was in charge of lighting), and elements. The music could take you anywhere— like a high without the additives, like one of those relaxing sound baths. One person napped. A couple snuggled up together. I wrote this.
Despite the denunciation of cellphone usage, the magic of this show had to be captured on video—in snippets of course — because it was easy to be enthralled by the beauty of it all.
The Atlanta native didn’t even address the crowd verbally until about 30 minutes into his 90-minute set.
“We appreciate y’all coming to spend time with us today,” the 49-year-old said with gratitude dripping from his lips. “Me and the crew looked up the other day and was like, ‘Man, we done did damn near 120 shows.’ We appreciate y’all tuning in.” He then offered insight into how the show would proceed.
<img class="c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto" src="https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/themes/vip/pmc-vibe-2021/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif" data-lazy-src="https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_004.jpg?w=1024" alt="André 3000 New Blue Sun tour" data-lazy-srcset="https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_004.jpg?w=2048&h=1152 6000w, https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_004.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_004.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w" data-lazy-sizes="(min-width: 87.5rem) 1000px, (min-width: 78.75rem) 681px, (min-width: 48rem) 450px, (max-width: 48rem) 250px" height="683" width="1024" decoding="async">
Ariel Goldberg
<img class="c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto" src="https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/themes/vip/pmc-vibe-2021/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif" data-lazy-src="https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_006A.jpg?w=1024" alt="André 3000 New Blue Sun tour" data-lazy-srcset="https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_006A.jpg?w=2048&h=1152 3975w, https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_006A.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_006A.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w" data-lazy-sizes="(min-width: 87.5rem) 1000px, (min-width: 78.75rem) 681px, (min-width: 48rem) 450px, (max-width: 48rem) 250px" height="683" width="1024" decoding="async">
Ariel Goldberg
<img class="c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto" src="https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/themes/vip/pmc-vibe-2021/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif" data-lazy-src="https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_0014.jpg?w=1024" alt="André 3000 New Blue Sun tour" data-lazy-srcset="https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_0014.jpg?w=2048&h=1152 4108w, https://www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Andre3000_10.02.24_Greek_Goldberg_0014.jpg?resize=300,
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