Washington D.C. and Duke Ellington School of the Arts graduate Kevin Ross made his way home on September 18 for a entertaining night of music. Ross first came to my attention when he won 106 and Park's Wild Out Wednesday competition . Since then he's had a lucrative solo career in addition to writing for the likes of Johnny Gill, SWV, Trey Songz and Tank.
I missed Ross's previous two concerts in the DMV area due to my busy schedule so I made sure to make the time to check him out at one of my favorite music venues this time. Taking in the stage in a sharp two piece suit, Ross opened his set with a smooth intro before making his way into "Don't Go" from his 2017 debut album, The Awakening. Perfectly in sync with his band, Ross performed as a seasoned when he blended in the king of pop's "Butterflies" and "I Can't Help It" into the song.
Ross then made his way into a one two punch of smoot crooning highlighting "Sweet Release" and "Looking For Love" from his most recent project, Drive 2. Those who follow Ross on social media are well aware of his 1990s R&B mash up series. Naturally they had be apart of his show. I won't spoil what songs Ross went into but the moment I heard the opening of Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison" I was won over. Ross then take a brief intermission to allow his band the chance to jam out which they did to an impressive 90's Hip Hop set.
Returning to the stage, Ross then perform one of my favorite songs from his catalog "God is A Genius". I've firmly believe in soulmates and the first time I heard the song, I was reminded of my wife and the bible verse Proverbs 31:10: "Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies". While the song has a simple arrangement, Ross delivers with a sincere honesty. As the night began to wind down Ross closed out his initial set with performances of "Be Great" and Long Song Away". Thankfully he wasn't done yet and to the delight of the crowd, Ross returned for a four song encore.
While the show was phenomenal, I do wish he added "Overrated" to the setlist. However two key moments in the show made up for the omission. The first was hearing on the spot performances from two of his influences his music teacher and his dad. The second was hearing his background perform an acoustic version of New Edition's "If Isn't Love". Immensely talented and more importantly humble, Kevin Ross's show is one you don't want to miss.
Final Grade : A