El Dorado Ballroom, Los Angeles 2024
Guess who went to Solange's El Dorado Ballroom 🙂
El Dorado Ballroom was a three-night performance series Solange Knowles/Saint Heron curated at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and Yours Truly attended night three: “Glory to Glory (A Revival For Spiritual and Devotional Art)”. Wow…
Answering the important questions first:
Yes, it was a gospel concert.
Yes, the Knowles sisters and Ms. Tina were present.
No, I did not meet them.
No, I did not take pictures or videos of the performances (or Beyoncé) because they asked us not to record. I did manage to grab a handful audio clips for this post, some of which I’ve shared below.
Through a serendipitous turn of events, a friend of a friend had an extra ticket so I got to attend the event with them. Then another friend of that same friend was planning to go, so we all met up and had a beautiful, Black ass time. Literally cannot wait to do it again.
When we were finally allowed into the concert hall (CP time, of course), the performance began with an organ solo from Dominique Johnson. The organ usually accompanies a sermon, eulogy, or some other vocal performance, so it was exciting to witness the instrument get to shine on its own. After the organ solo, Moses Sumney joined Johnson on stage for three songs. At this point, I was wholly distracted by the presence of Tina Knowles, so I forgot to record clips of Johnson and Sumney. Just know that there were several times where shouting felt appropriate but I wasn’t sure about “etiquette” at the philharmonic. We were just getting warmed up, though. By the end of the night, everyone in the room was in riotous applause.
The second section of the performance was a tribute to the late Mary Lou Williams who was famous for blending secular and spiritual music in her compositions. Malcolm J. Merriwether, accompanied by Artina McCain, conducted three choral selections from Black Christ of the Andes, Williams’ Mass in honor of St. Martin de Porres, a mixed-race Afro-Peruvian renowned for his healing abilities.
Then McCain delivered solo piano performances of more of Williams music, which reminded me of the animated Cruella De Vil in the best possible way: determined, possessed, skillful, evocative, theatrical… I loved every second of her performance.
Then Dominique Johnson returned to the stage to play the towering pipe organ at the rear of the stage, and the crowd was coming unglued at the point, myself included.
The GMWA Women of Worship (Birmingham, AL) closed the show with at least six songs and four soloists – likely more but I was caught up in the performances and can’t find the setlist online. The chorus members wore white, red, and yellow robes, the colors of divinity, life, and immortality, respectively (Penguin Book of Symbols 1108, 792, 1137). It’s probably best to let them speak (sing… sang) for themselves with the Billboard-chart-topping “Order My Steps.”
Learn more about El Dorado Ballroom from Saint Heron, Vibe, and the LA Philharmonic.
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