NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
I don’t think you can possibly over-emphasize Mary J Blige’s accolades and impact to hip hop and R&B. We won’t list all her accomplishments and even her latest, induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, was a long time coming. On the heels of the release of her fifteenth studio album “Gratitude” in November 2024, Blige embarked on an extensive North American tour in January. On March 22nd, she stopped at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center for a sold out performance!
The crowd had started to line up early on the cold afternoon but by 6pm, doors had not opened. Doors finally opened around 6:40pm and the fans began to slowly filter into the arena. Even though doors opened late, the first opener, R&B singer Mario (aka Mario Dewar Barrett) opened pretty much on time to a sparsely filled venue. That was a shame because Mario put on a great performance. Even though most of his success was in the 2010’s and his most recent visibility was as runner-up on The Masked Singer in 2024, his set was a great start to the night.
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Unfortunately, by the time our next performer, three time Grammy winning R&B Artist Ne-Yo (aka Shaffer Chimere Smith), hit the stage, there was still a substantial number of fans waiting to enter the venue. This means they missed an incredible set by Ne-yo. At any other show, he would have been the headliner. Between the complex stage setup, the visuals, and the dancers, this was an A+ knockout performance, and we haven’t even gotten into his vocals! As with Mario, the last decade has been less successful musically for Ne-Yo than earlier in his career. He too participated in not only The Masked Singer but also The Masked Singer UK, finishing first and second respectively. That being said, his set was chock full of hits like “So Sick”, “Sexy Love”, “Because of You”, and “Miss Independent”, not to mention the covers he performed later in the set. For those who were still making their way to their seats, again, it was unfortunate.
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Keybank Center was now packed as the crowd waited for Mary J Blige. As the lights went down, everyone was staring intently at the stage, many with their camera phones held up to catch Blige as she took the stage. She surprised everyone as she rose up from below the B-stage with just one spotlight hovering above. Everyone screamed as they did a 180 to face their idol! She was wearing an orange bodysuit with a long furry orange coat and boots, topped off with a big orange hat! Blige has always been stylish and this show was no exception. She kicked off her set with “Take Me As I Am” from her 2005 number one album “Breakthrough”. I was wondering how she was going to get to the main stage. That was before she climbed onto what looked like a giant tiara and soared above the crowd as “A Dream” played over the speakers! Wow, what an way to start the show!!
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The main stage was quite a sight to behold, with two massive hands towards the back of the stage, servicing as an doorway, and a humongous crown initialed with MJB floating above the hands. The guitarist, a keyboardisst, and the backup singers were stage left and the drummer and more keyboards stage right. Dancers danced as a dozen CO2 cannons fired up and down the stage and runway, heralding Mary J Blige’s rising up from below to take the stage. Her voice is still incredible and she knows how to put on a show, engaging and encouraging the audience when appropriate, and stopping to hear them sing at times. Besides CO2 cannons, there were also flame throwers , allowing us to call the show “fire” literally!
The show was broken up into three acts with almost fourteen songs just in Act I!!! After “I’m the Only Woman”, there was a brief interlude where they played a video of Blige talking about her divorce before she came back to the stage, now wearing a glittery blue bodysuit! She began Act II with “Be Without You”, a double platinum hit for her. There were more pyrotechnics as sparklers rained down on Blige from above! I’m assuming there were a couple of stage hands with fire extinguishers hiding behind the giant hands…just in case. A highlight of Act II was “Not Gon’ Cry”, when the whole crowd sang along. It was truly beautiful. Another great moment was when she came down the runway to the crowd and had someone in the crowd help sing the chorus of “I’m Going Down”. What a thrill for that fan!
After another interlude and DJ set, Mary J Blige came back with “Enough Crying”, this time in a short sparkly (they’re all sparkly) blue skirt and a New York Yankees baseball cap. I can’t say enough about the production value of this show. The band and backup singers are spot on. Transitions between songs were so well executed! There was one where two dancers came to escort Blige down the steps from the back of the stage to the front of the stage and one dancer grabbed the mic stand, then danced off the stage as if it were part of the dance. Amazing!
After another brief interlude, Mary J Blige closed the show with “Family Affair”, complete with flame, CO2, and confetti! The energy in the venue for that song was through the rooff! Although the full set was over thirty songs, it felt shorter because some of the songs were medley, which was great if you wanted to get a taste of everything but not as good if you only heard a snippet of your favorite song. Either way, there’s no way anyone at the show could not be impressed and awed by this talented artist. Hail the Queen!
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Setlist:
