First stadium tour? Typically that would be a tall order for an artist making the leap in venue size, but not for the likes of the famed and talented Chris Brown. The entertainer deemed it necessary to up the ante for his much anticipated Breezy Bowl XX Stadium World Tour which was announced back in late April, with the intention of giving fans his own Super Bowl-esque performance celebrating 20 years of his music.
Downtown on Monday afternoon was a complete frenzy. It seemed as though if you hadn’t made your way to the venue by yesterday then you were already behind the eight ball. Traffic stretched out farther than the eye could see, and if you were looking for free or cheap parking within a block, forget about it. Be prepared to pay that $70 or catch a last minute Uber.
Even from simply driving around the outside of the building, you could tell that fashion was a focal point for this tour. No matter where you looked someone had Chris Brown tour merch, or their own custom, self-made design. From jackets, with original patches featuring all of Chris’s albums, to cut up denim jeans and western boots, each one putting their own unique flair on the night. The ratio was definitely in favor of the ladies by at least 8:1, but don’t get it mistaken. There were still plenty of Breezy boys in attendance. Upon entering the stadium, the energy was undeniably high. The word was out: SHOW UP EARLY. It didn’t matter if you were in the nosebleeds or you had a front row seat on the floor, you could feel that concert-goers were just elated to be in the midst of it all. There wasn’t an empty seat to be found.
Summer Walker kicked the show off, giving fans exactly what they came for with a little Texas Two-Step flavor, dawning a silver top with silver cowboy boots and a silver cowboy hat. She was the perfect asset to open the show, soothing us into submission with seductive and soulful singles like “Body” and “Heart Of A Woman.” Walker showed poise and grace the entire time like the savvy songstress she is. Not one to leave the ladies with more to be desired, Summer had to perform her popular hit “No Love” which instantly had the girlies pulling their phones out to either use them as a make-shift microphone or to performing their own choreography in selfie mode.
Following her act was none other than Bryson Tiller, another excellent compliment to the tour. The man often known as Pen Griffey followed suite from Summer’s wardrobe, as he appeared sporting an all black Cavender’s inspired Texas get up, complete with a cowboy hat, Stetson boots, a vest, and back shades. He started off performing his Street Fighter inspired classic “Sorry, Not Sorry” and “Let ‘Em Know” to get the crowd amped up. He also performed arguably his most popular song “Exchange” from his renowned album Trapsoul which instantly transformed the arena into karaoke night at the bar. The Louisville native announced that he recently released a planned two-part EP called Solace & Vices, with Vices making its debut last month in August, and that the second half Solace would soon be making its release in October. Before Tiller performed his last song “Don’t”, he made sure to shout out his tour brother Chris Brown on organizing his first stadium tour, and thanked him for bringing him on as support.
Everything else that occurred for the rest of the night was exactly as advertised, from reviews in other cities, to videos on Tiktok and Instagram. You truly had to be there to witness such a spectacle. It was finally time for the main act to hit the stage, but before he did, a montage rolled across the screens encapsulating Chris’s life in short five second audio and visual clips, setting us up for whom would be the man of the hour, or rather, three hours!
This night was a night of milestones and achievements, an ode to 20 long years of greatness. It wouldn’t be a Chris Brown show if he didn’t perform the classics, and off-the-bat, he made sure to start things off the proper way with his very first hit single “Run It!” from his self-titled album in 2005 that will turn 20 this November. From there, the night would take fans through an emotional and captivating roller coaster divided into four distinct eras of his career, identified as “Rise”, “Fall”, “Fantasy”, and “Legacy.” Breezy Bowl was not only a nod to the undeniable talent of Brown, the hits, the record sales, and the relentless success over the decades, but a reward to the fans, Team Breezy, who never wavered through the all the ups, downs, and in-betweens of the journey. Through it all his fans never faltered, and as such, they deserved his best.
It was at that moment we all assumed the role of passenger princess, hopped in the Delorean, fastened our seat belts, and allowed Christopher to chauffeur us through time on the road to a tantalizing turn up. The stage was adorned from left to right with all of his albums in translucent light. Run It! Graffiti. 11:11. Indigo. Exclusive. They were all there from East to West like a rainbow of trophies showing growth this young boy took to evolve into a grown man. Through the first quarter, Chris didn’t waste any time, shocking aficionados with a blast from the past from literally every album in his arsenal, as if choosing at random, with hits like “Deuces”, “Say Goodbye”, and “Aint No Way. One of the best moments took place when a diamond encrusted microphone dropped down from the ceiling, glistening, as he sang one of his recent ballads in 2023, “Residuals”, in which everyone sang with him in unison.
During the first intermission, you would think that would be time to pause, excuse yourself to the restroom, or perhaps visit the bar for another round, but not this tour. For every intermission that night, a fan cam would make its way around the stadium while the DJ kept playing timeless classics of Brown’s. Every time the camera would find a group they would come alive and perform for the entire venue on the big screen, blowing kisses, dancing, serving sexy looks, and even flaunting phones and signs with words like, “CHRIS IS MY BABY DADDY.” It was truly a chef’s kiss to keeping the vibes immaculate and making sure fans stayed engaged.
Alas, the Maurice Marathon continued, as Brown would go on to bombard the room with nostalgia performing “Under The Influence”, “Strip”, and even songs he featured on such as “Private Show” with T.I., and “Beat It” with Sean Kingston. At one point the master of ceremonies went airborne. While singing “Look At Me Now”, the pop star levitated and flew around the stadium from literally “Wall To Wall.” He then landed on the tip top of the stadium stage, appearing as a speck, performed “Beautiful People” and gently descended back onto the main stage, showing fans that he will always be willing to put on a show for his fans, even it means taking flight. With cheers of “BREEZY! BREEZY!” ringing out from the masses, Chris looked compassionately into the crowd at Daikin Park and thanked everyone for living this moment with him over the decades, followed by performing his last song of the night, “Forever.”
Breezy Bowl could be summed up in many words, but timeless feels most applicable. It wasn’t just another concert, it was an experience. To encapsulate 20 years into one night is no small feat, and is a testament to the detail Brown puts into his craft. Heralded as one of the greatest entertainers of this generation, perhaps all time, Chris Brown always finds a way to capture our attention and leave us with more to be desired. At only 36, it looks and feels like he has more left in the tank, but time will only tell what he has in store to share with all of us before we may ever witness his talents in person again.
About Author
