Why Bruno Mars (and now Silk Sonic) Takes All My Money!

It's probably safe to say that a lot of us fell in love with Bruno Mars and his voice after hearing him sing the hooks on B.O.B's, "Nothin' On You" & Travie McCoy's, "Billionaire". I was intrigued by this newcomer in 2010 but was skeptical about what else he had to offer music-wise. "Is he just a hook singing guy or what", I thought! (Whew! I WAS SO WRONG)! 

Turns out this man was a whole singer-songwriter, producer, and much more! Little did I know this talented musician & his band, the Hooligans, would start taking all of my extra money (do you hear me)?! We'll talk more about that shortly! 

Once Bruno's debut album, "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" dropped in 2010, I became an INSTANT fan after hearing him sing the shit out of "Grenade"! That song had me and my young son at the time obsessed! Although I loved Bruno's music, I wasn't sold on seeing him in concert during this time for whatever reason. 

Then BOOM!! This man goes and drops his 2nd album, "Unorthodox Jukebox" in 2012! After listening to the entire album just once, I purchased my ticket to the #MoonshineJungleTour! There was no way I was missing seeing this masterpiece performed live!

Y'all, if you haven't experienced a Bruno Mars show, I promise you - you will after this blog! Let's take a trip back down memory lane to 8 of the most amazing concerts in my life!

MY OBSESSION BEGINS! This is where Bruno Mars & the Hooligans start taking ALL MY COINS! 

The #MoonshineJungleTour kicked off in June 2013 in North America and I secured my ticket in my hometown of Atlanta, GA! On the day of the concert, I was feeling hella' EXCITED (even though I was stood up by a friend who was supposed to join me)! I ended up going alone and that was even better! This turned out to be the 1st of many amazing solo experiences for me! 

As I sat in the arena with thousands of other concertgoers patiently waiting for the show to start, jungle sounds started to rumble throughout the arena! It's time to start the party! 

The curtain drops and Bruno Mars & the Hooligans hit us with the opening song, "Moonshine". It was PERFECTION! Soon after, he hit us with "Treasure" as confetti bombs shot off all over the place! The fans were going crazy!  This quickly turned into a massive party! I was already out of breath from dancing so hard and it had only been 10 minutes! Luckily I snagged an aisle seat at this show, so I really had room to do my thang'! 

*Concert tip: If you love to dance - ALWAYS book an aisle seat for more space to do your thang' too! 

More of the hits followed including songs from the "Doo-Wap & Hooligans" album! Once he got to the smash hit "Grenade", Bruno executed the song with flawless vocals! This man also gave us a solo guitar performance that would've given the legendary, Prince full-body chills! It was PHENOMENAL to witness! 

On top of all of this, Bruno & the Hooligans had us laughing during the entire show with their antics! Shout out to Bruno's right-hand man, Philip Lawrence (@philsmeeze)! He is a complete idiot on stage! This dude should add comedian to his resumé as well! (LOL)! 

When we arrived at the last song (or so a lot of people thought), Bruno went BIG! Hearing the baseline to "Locked Out of Heaven" sent Philips Arena into sheer pandemonium! By the time the Hooligans got to the bridge of the song, the arena was covered in gold confetti! It was truly AH-MAZING! 

The curtains came down as that was the finale song. People start exiting the arena - except me! I read the setlist beforehand, so I knew the show wasn't over! All of us that were left in the arena started to chant, "ENCORE"! The curtain rises again! Bruno & the Hooligans come back out for the finale (for real this time LOL)! The last song performed was, "Gorilla" and Bruno vocally gave us EV.VER.RE.THING!! It was incredible!

I was so sad when this night ended. I will easily tell anyone that this was 1 of the BEST nights of my life! I was able to be free to sing & dance without a care in the world to some of my favorite songs by one of my artists. Moments I will NEVER forget! ✨

In February 2014, Bruno Mars & the Hooligans performed at Super Bowl XLVIII! Immediately after that show-stopping performance, the 2nd round of the #MoonshineJungleTour was announced! I grabbed my credit card, and hopped on Ticketmaster! Unfortunately, Atlanta was not on the list this time, but Alabama was! So you know what that meant - ROAD TRIP! After I secured my tickets, I gassed up my car and headed to AL for another round of Bruno & the Hooligans!

The energy in the BJCC Arena that night was electric (but not better than Atlanta's of course LOL)! We all waited patiently for the curtain to drop! You already know what happens once that curtain drops - P A R T Y! Heeeeeeey! 

This 2nd show was just like the 1st! Mr. Mars & the band killed it! Delivering hit, after hit, AFTER HIT! The only thing that would've made this night more perfect for me was scoring an aisle seat! I felt confined at this concert and was not able to move around like I wanted to! But all of the fun was still had, okaaaaaay!

In 2016, Bruno Mars teased us with a new song "24 Karat Magic". Once the song dropped, it became an INSTANT hit! Shortly after, the #24KaratMagicTour was announced! For this show, I headed to Las Vegas with friends ready to drink, dance, and sing off-key like never before! 

During this time, an up & coming artist and his band opened for Bruno Mars on the 1st leg of the tour - Anderson .Paak & the Free Nationals! This was the beginning of the epic duo that would later be known as 'Silk Sonic'! 

The night of our show the amazing, Jabbawockeez opened for Bruno Mars! They killed it as they always do! A short time later, Bruno & the Hooligans got the show started with, Finesse, followed by, 24 Karat Magic, and then, Treasure! Luckily I had my aisle seat because I was dancing as if my life depended on it! 

Bruno performed songs from both of his previous albums and even gave us yet another RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING guitar solo on "Calling All My Lovelies"! Another stand-out song was "Versace On The Floor"! Y'all, the staging & lighting for this song were unbelievable! Shout out to Bruno's production/staging crew! 

This ENTIRE show was nothing short of phenomenal, but my GAWD - the finale! Bruno & the Hooligans saved "Uptown Funk" for the last song! The energy he gives in this performance is undeniable! I mean, not only can you see it, but you can FEEL IT!! As he & his band wrap the song up, fireworks start to shoot off all over the place! The next thing you know, 2 firemen come out with fire extinguishers spraying the hell out of Bruno! And he's still killing the stage! This performance is just insane! 

By the end of this show, I am covered in sweat and my voice is completely gone! I probably lost a pound or two from TOO much dancing! Tickets were booked for another show immediately after this one! I had to experience this again!

After that AH-MAZING concert, I had to see this show again! Next up was Bruno's residency at Park Theater in Las Vegas! What made this occasion so special is that I got the chance to experience this show with my son! This was his very 1st concert! One of our favorite things to do was to sing Bruno Mars's songs together when he was younger. Now we were getting ready to do this live! 

What I loved about Park Theater was how intimate this show was. I'm used to seeing Bruno in sold-out arenas, so it was nice to be in a smaller, beautiful space! The staging was incredible per usual with BRUNO MARS spelled out in huge neon-colored letters! It was so dope! Bruno & the Hooligans gave us a hell of a show that night! 

When Bruno sang "Grenade" my son and I gave each other a look! This was the song we used to belt out together when he was just 7 years old!

THIS WAS OUR MOMENT! We went for it: 

"And darling I'd still catch a grenade for yaaaaaaaa'! Throw my hand on a blade for yaaaaaaaaa'"! 

Sang our freakin' hearts out do you hear me?! We bonded over our favorite music and it was perfect! What an unforgettable night for us!

I love attending a good festival so when a social media ad popped up advertising a wine festival in Napa Valley with Bruno Mars headlining, I maxed out a credit card to go! Terrible, I know. But it gets worse......

Anywho, BottleRock Napa Valley is an annually held festival that showcases artists, big & small from all over the world! This particular year featured some amazing talent like the legendary Earth Wind & Fire, Allen Stone, Tank and the Bangas, Lake Street Dive + many more! But you know we were all there to see the Brunz! 

My friend & I arrived at the festival LIT (we had consumed as many bottomless Mimosas as humanly possible at a nearby restaurant)! We wanted to secure our spot at the main stage early, but still ended up being too late! Everyone else had the same idea! We waited for hours and watched act after act until the sun started to go down! Bruno Mars & the Hooligans were finally up next! 

The show kicked off with "Finesse" followed by "24 Karat Magic"! Within minutes, Napa Valley Expo turned into a BIG. ASS. PARTY! As the sun was setting around us, fireworks from the show begin to light up the night sky! It was surreal! Every person at that festival was vibing out! 

This was my 5th time seeing Bruno Mars & the Hooligans in concert and I can honestly say that every single show I've seen has been INCREDIBLE! These musicians truly (and I mean truly) enjoy what they do and you can see it!

Whew! By the time this show came around, my credit card had died SEVERAL deaths! But guess what, it would soon die again because there was no way I was missing Bruno's homecoming concert in Hawaii! There was a big buzz online regarding this show! It was supposed to be huge because the Hawaiian Lion (his words, not mine) was coming home! Bruno had 3 shows scheduled at Aloha Stadium to close out the #24Karat MagicTour! 

At first, the tickets were only sold to residents of Hawaii, but I was able to snag a resale ticket! 

Get this! It was a FLOOR SEAT! 

AT. A. BRUNO MARS. SHOW! 

This was a bucket list moment for me! 

That next week, I was hopping on a plane from L.A. to Honululu by myself to experience the show of ALL shows in my opinion!

Arriving at Aloha Stadium that night was surreal! Thousands of people were everywhere ready to TURN UP! The concert started with a beautiful tribute to Bruno Mars. The pictures being displayed gave us a glimpse into his early years along with his family growing up in Hawaii. The song, "Island Style" by John Cruz played while we oohed' & aaahed' at photos of baby Bruno! He even showed us his old driver's license picture (LOL)! As the tribute came to an end, Bruno signed off with a simple, but sweet message to his hometown: 

Dear Hawaii, 

I'M HOME!

Love, Bruno Mars!

The loudest cheers & screams I've ever heard in my life erupted throughout the stadium! There were 50,000 people there that night! It was WILD! A few minutes later, the curtain dropped and you know what happened next - THE PARTY STARTED! I ran from my seat to the aisle to dance! There was no way I was going to be confined to a middle seat on the last show of this tour! As Bruno & the Hooligans performed all the hits, the energy from the thousands of fans in that stadium went crazy! And it was amazing to witness! 

One of my favorite moments from this show was Bruno performing "Just the Way You Are"! He stopped the music and shared with us how he watched the legendary, Michael Jackson at this stadium years ago and he told himself that this would be him one day! 

He did that shit! Do you see this?! 

The next statement Bruno made, teared me up a little bit. He said, 

"To the youth out there, just because we're born and raised on an island in the middle of nowhere, that don't mean that you can't make a noise that the whole world can hear'. 

Yaaaaaaasssss! If that ain't some inspiring shit, I don't know what is! 

As the show wrapped up, shout-outs for the band began! Bruno introduced Phredley Brown, Jamareo Artis, Eric Hernandez, Kameron Whalum, Dwayne Dugger, James King & John Fossit.

THE HOOLIGANS, ladies & gentlemen! 

The last song of the show was none other than "Uptown Funk"! This performance gets me every single time I swear! The bass line in that song is just nasty (and I mean that in the best way possible)! As Bruno is doing his thing, he yells through the mic, "DON'T BELIEVE ME JUST WATCH! GET YO' ASS UP, C'MON" as he motions for everyone to dance! I lost my mind! I'm dripping in sweat from dancing so hard! The very next second, fireworks start to go off and gold glitter has covered the floor of the stadium! Y'all, I WAS IN HEAVEN! Just unbelievable! 

According to Bruno's Instagram from that night after the show, they celebrated backstage by popping champagne to an incredible end of the #24KaratMagicTour! Over 200 shows performed all over the world! I'm glad I got the chance to party at 4 of them!

As you can see, quite some time has passed since my last Bruno Mars experience and I was not happy about this! Once the pandemic hit, I was wondering if I would ever see him live again! But in 2021, a reinvention took place! Bruno Mars announced that he and the insanely talented Anderson .Paak teamed up to form the duo 'Silk Sonic' (shout out to funk legend Bootsy Collins for inspiring their name)! 

I had been waiting FOREVER to hear some new music from Bruno and finally - it came! In March 2021, Silk Sonic dropped "Leave the Door Open" and it was an INSTANT HIT! I seriously had that song on repeat for 2 weeks straight. I'm not playing! In November of the same year, the super duo dropped their highly anticipated album, "An Evening with Silk Sonic"! Shortly after, a Las Vegas residency was announced! I dusted off my credit card and booked tickets!

It's now May 2022. I'm in the pits of hell (a.k.a Las Vegas. I legit hate that place) with my bro & sis ready to see Silk Sonic perform live at Dolby Live! My brother and I bought matching 70's inspired outfits and everything! We were TOO hyped for this show, OK?! I purchased an aisle seat so I was ready to dance the night away with no constraints! 

As we were sitting in our seats waiting for the show to start, the lights around the stage began to dim. Everyone starts clapping. Bruno & Anderson hop on the mics and the congo drums! They belt out: 

"Who y'all came to see tonight? Who gon' get the ladies feeling something? WHO?! We gon' lock this groove in tight! Don't have us lock this groove down for nothing!"

I was out of that damn seat and on my feet faster than you could blink! I had waited YEARS for this moment! I was back to seeing the Brunz and now Anderson .Paak, LIVE! WHAT?!?!

Silk Sonic transformed Dolby Live into a literal 70's disco! I mean this had to be the sexiest dance party to hit Las Vegas ever! What a vibe!

What truly had me laughing my ass off was the skit/song that Silk Sonic hit us with - "We took your phones away!" And they did. They actually took our phones! Once you enter Dolby Live, you had to place your phone in a Yondr pouch to be locked during the show. This was a NO CELL PHONE party! And I loved that! Silk Sonic made sure we came to PARTY and not be distracted by our phones! But back to the song, that shit was dope and they need to release it as a single!

The show went on and Silk Sonic hit us with all the hits from the album: 777, Skate, Con Funk Shun's classic hit, Love's Train, and more! Then, Bruno and Anderson, each took turns doing a couple of their songs from their personal projects! Anderson (and his Ike Turner wig) was KILLIN' it on the drums while Bruno did his thing and vice versa! They both danced their asses off and vocally, both of them sounded exactly like the record! Too much talent in these guys! 

Can I take a minute to talk about the staging, the lighting, and the sound of the show?! INCREDIBLE! Just...INFUCKINCREDIBLE! When Silk Sonic performed "Put On a Smile", the background was that of rain and a little thunder! Creative AF! 

Oh and let me add, the fellas were dressed down baby! Do you hear me?! Silk Sonic & the Hooligans looked AH-MAZING! I bet they smelled good too! Whew, I'm getting sidetracked y'all!

Anyways, back to the show! Although I love every track on "An Evening with Silk Sonic" the song "Blast Off" is legit everything a song is supposed to be (Earth Wind & Fire is all over that track)! That masterpiece takes me on a journey every single time I listen to it! Now I was preparing to hear it LIVE!

As soon as "Clouds are blowin' don't know where we're going, but we're levitating up in this room" came out of Anderson's mouth, I damn near fainted! And then Bruno comes in ever so smoothly with "As we're flying, stars are multiplying, we're up so high, we'd be fools to look down". 

I AM COMPLETELY FEELING EVERYTHING I'M SUPPOSED TO AT THIS MOMENT! It was simply beautiful! 

The finale song is none other than the smash hit "Leave the Door Open". Silk Sonic gave a FLAWLESS performance!

I hated that the concert had to end! That was the best 2 hours of my life! As I was walking out of Dolby Live, I told my friends, "I'm coming back to see this show again"!

A conversation between me and a guy I used to date: 

Him: "I'll be in Vegas for a few days. Come chill with me". 

Me: "Hell no! I'd do a cartwheel off my roof before I visit Vegas again"! (There's a ridiculous story behind why I said this)! 

Him: "Come see Silk Sonic with me then"! 

Me: 

2 weeks later, I was back in Vegas to see Silk Sonic again and I was stoked as if I'd never seen them in my life! 

Round 2 of "An Evening with Silk Sonic" was just as great as my 1st experience! They may as well have put me in the show because I knew the choreography and the setlist by heart!

I was in complete awe of every performance! From Smoking Out The Window to Am I Wrong to Treasure, every lyric was sung perfectly! 

Another highlight of the show is the talented musicians that got to rock out on their solo performances! Maurice Brown played a hell of a trumpet solo to "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" and Mateo Asato blew the roof off with his guitar on "After Last Night'! 

Sidebar: That "After Last Night" performance is SPECTACULAR! That's all I'm going to say!

As the show was coming to a close again (sad face), I vocally prepared myself to belt out "Blast Off" with the band! When Silk Sonic arrived at my favorite part of that song, I lost it: 

"Dance all night on Saturn's ring, if you got some friends that you want to bring.....then come on. IT'S TIME TO TAKE THIS PARTY UP AND BEYOND"! 

Baby, you couldn't tell me I didn't beat my air drums just as good as Anderson did on that song, OK?! I was having the time of my life! The band wrapped up the concert again with yet another flawless performance of "Leave the Door Open" and it was beautiful! A perfect end to another magical night! 

An evening with Silk Sonic is indeed an evening well spent! 

I've been asked why I continue to spend money on seeing the same artist over & over again and the answer for me is quite simple. For at least 2-3 hours, I get to leave my worries at home and enjoy my life with good music! I KNOW FOR CERTAIN that I'm spending my money on a performer that gives his all every single show!

Serious question: Have you ever seen a bad Bruno Mars performance? Because I haven't!

Now do yall see why I keep seeing this man & his band in concert?! They are PHENOMENAL! The showmanship, charisma, and professionalism, are just the tip of what you'll experience seeing these amazing performers live! 

Thank you for hanging out on this blog today and reliving some incredible memories with me! Check back later as I'm sure I will keep updating this blog because I plan on seeing more of this future LEGEND in concert for many years to come! See you at the next show!

Who is your favorite artist to see live and why? Let's chat about it in the comments!