"Uncovering the Magic: A Review of André 3000 - New Blue Sun's Live Performance 🎶"

Written By: Jazz Echevarría & Jason Ivy

Published February 14, 2024

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Chicago, IL --- With a seemingly endless array of flutes, André 3000 reintroduced audiences to a novel medium of artistic expression in an age of soundalikes, professional copycats, and general rampant unoriginality. And surely, the songs from “New Blue Sun” will find themselves remade and reworked into projects for decades to come.

Elaborate chalk art featuring André 3000. Photo courtesy of Jazz Echevarria

New Blue Sun Live sold out before we even heard about tickets going on sale so we were convinced that we weren’t going. But thankfully, luck was on our side! Thalia Hall is also one of the best music venues in Chicago. We got there early and had dinner and drinks at a bar below the venue called Punch House. Hiatus Kaiyote played in the background so the good vibes were set for the evening.

Matching drinks at the bar. Photo courtesy of Jazz Echevarria

We weren’t really sure what to expect from this show knowing that everything would be improvised. But it turned out to be one of the best live experiences we have ever attended. And comfortable! We really appreciated that every guest had a seat. Only performing one song off the album, this show was unlike any other concert, with the rest of the evening feeling like one big jam session. The no cell phone policy forced the audience to be in the moment together and partake through undivided attention and making any sounds that we felt called to make.

Photo carrousel of the concert courtesy of Thalia Hall Instagram account. Photos by Joel Meinholz

Essentially, there’s no other way to put this: “you had to be there.” André created a moment in time, an experience that several audiences over several nights were able to share. And not in the way that traditional, rehearsed concerts do. More in the way that a conference or workshop does by facilitating an exchange — except, instead of mere thoughts, this one consisted of energy.

Released on November 17, 2023, New Blue Sun is André 3000's debut solo album, and his first music released in 17 years.

Thumbnail photo credit:  Kai Reagan

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Jazz Echevarría is a guest contributor for Prince UniverCity.

She is a filmmaker and actor from the southwest side of Chicago.

You can follow her for more content on her Instagram page.

Jason Ivy is a guest contributor for Prince UniverCity. Named "Chicago's Future Superstar" by Nick Cannon, Jason Ivy is an acclaimed singer-songwriter, SAG-AFTRA actor, and internationally recognized filmmaker from the south side of Chicago. You can follow him for more content on his Instagram page.