[Review] Chris Brown’s INDIGOAT Tour

R&B singer-songwriter and Grammy Award winner Chris Brown has been called several things, and he’s gone through everything from addiction and rehab to restraining orders and arrests. His outlet for it all? Music! Most recently, he released his 9th studio album, Indigo, and thus the INDIGOAT Tour was born. New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center was Brown’s sixth stop on the two-month-long tour. He brought along supporting acts Joyner Lucas, Yella Beezy, Tory Lanez, and Ty Dolla $ign.

The Noticeably Smaller Crowd

The INDIGOAT Tour marks the third time Chris Brown has headlined the Smoothie King Center since 2015 and the fourth time he has performed in New Orleans since then. His past hasn’t deterred his loyal fans, also known as Team Breezy, from showing up. They are going to support him through thick and thin, but will the general public?

There was a noticeable difference in the crowd size this year and the crowd during The Party Tour in 2017. For this tour stop, the entire 300-level of the arena was blacked out by curtains. Is it a result of cancel culture? Is it because New Orleans is a weird market to sell in? Is it due to the show being on a weeknight? Or simply because Brown’s tours are frequent, so people decided to save up for the next one?

Regardless of whether there are 50 people or 50,000, Chris Brown gives his all and ensures that his fans experience a proper Chris Brown concert!

Brown’s Undeniable Talent

Despite his mishaps and mistakes, Brown definitely lives up to his reputation as a skilled live performer, and this may have been one of his best shows yet! I was a bit upset to see Chris Brown return to the “traditional” concert stage setup, whereas his 2017 Party Tour stage was in the middle of the arena floor, almost like a boxing ring. I felt like he could connect more with the crowd, and more people had the chance to have an up-close view with that setup.

For this tour, the first half of the show included more recent tracks such as the title track of his latest album, Indigo, “Heat,” and “Temporary Lover.”

A voice-over of comedian Kevin Hart announced the 15-minute intermission, and then the party began. It’s no surprise that when the DJ played tracks like “Back That Thang Up,” “Thotiana,” and “Donk”, the crowd was out of their seats! Throughout the 15 minutes, cameramen showed the crowd as they backed it up, dropped, and got low on the concert floor.

While the crowd danced during the intermission, Brown’s team swapped out the monster-like statues that had dollar signs and plus signs for pupils with two inflatable, futuristic-looking women robots. The two-time Grammy Award winner took the crowd down memory lane as he sang snippets of tracks from his first studio album and his earlier hits like “Turn Up the Music,” “Shortie Like Mine,” “Kiss Kiss,” and “Deuces.” This portion of the show was nostalgic, to say the least, and had the most crowd participation. But out of all the throwbacks, the crowd was the loudest for Brown’s 2007 hit, “With You.” When he finished singing the first verse and chorus of the popular R&B ballad, the crowd began to carry on with the rest of the song for him. He looked out as everyone sang every word to the 12-year-old track and broke into a gleaming grin.

As the night progressed, his fans were on their feet dancing and singing along until the very end. Brown kept his energy level on high while he sang, danced, and flipped before ending the night off with his latest hit single, “No Guidance.”

As I said, there is no denying that Chris Brown is a world-class entertainer, but will he be returning to New Orleans for his next tour after these sales numbers? Only the future will tell!

If you missed Chris Brown’s stop in New Orleans or just want to re-live the night, you can watch clips of their performance on my Chris Brown Instagram highlight and view the photo gallery below.