Janelle Monáe's The Age of Pleasure Tour kicked off yesterday in Seattle and it lived up to its name.
The 8x Grammy nominee recently dropped her 4th studio album The Age of Pleasure which starts off with her declaring she's changed so much since her previous album she doesn't even walk any more.
I used to walk into the room head down
I don't walk, now I float
Part of her personal evolution may be due to the fact that last year she came out as non binary. She told the Los Angeles Times in April of 2022 that her pronouns are they/them, her/she and also "free as f---."
After hearing this new album it's hard to disagree with that.
"I’m non binary, so I just don’t see myself as a woman ... solely," she told Jada Pinkett Smith on her podcast last year.
"I feel like God is so much bigger than the he or the she. And if I am from God, I am everything. But I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything that I am beyond the binary. When I see people, I see your energy first — I don’t see how you identify — and I feel like that opens you up to fall in love with any beautiful spirit," she said.
No disrespect to the lovelies who made the pilgrimage to the WaMu Theater in Seattle on 8/30, but clearly the most beautiful spirit in the hall was Janelle Monae Robinson who played 10 of her 14 newest songs from Age of Pleasure including two which she live debuted "Paid in Pleasure" and "Know Better."
From the visuals to the sounds and the vibes, The Age of Pleasure has been one of the nicest new grooves of the year.
It was well worth the five year wait since 2018's Dirty Computer gave us the Prince collab of "Make Me Feel" which Janelle returned to play on the first song of her encore.
The singer sent everyone home with "Tight Rope" from her 2010 debut The ArchAndroid. It's a song she performed in 2014 at the White House as it was on First Lady Michelle Obama's first "Let's Move" playlist.
The Age of Pleasure Tour rolls on through 26 cities throughout the US and Canada including stops at Massey Hall and Radio City ending at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, CA in October.
Tickets available here.
The Age of Pleasure Tour
Sat Sep 02 – Portland, OR – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
Wed Sep 06 –Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
Thu Sep 07 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Sat Sep 09 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre
Mon Sep 11 – Minneapolis, MN – Armory Wed
Sep 13 – St. Louis, MO – Stifel Theatre
Thu Sep 14 – Chicago, IL – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
Sun Sep 17 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Mon Sep 18 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met
Wed Sep 20 – Montreal, QB – Mtelus
Thu Sep 21 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
Sun Sep 24 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
Tue Sep 26 – New York City, NY – Radio City Music Hall
Thu Sep 28 – Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre
Mon Oct 02 – Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
Tue Oct 03 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
Wed Oct 04 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company
Fri Oct 06 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre Atlanta
Mon Oct 09 – Dallas, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Tue Oct 10 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center
Wed Oct 11 – Austin, TX – Moody Amphitheater
Sun Oct 15 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
Tue Oct 17 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Wed Oct 18 – Inglewood, CA – YouTube Theater
