AN EVENING WITH MAXWELL

There have been plenty of full-album tours and one-off shows in recent years, but never something quite like this: R&B star Maxwell will play not one, not two, but all four of his era defining albums across back-to-back nights with his eleven piece band at the Staples Center on July 20 and 21 in Los Angeles.

Mr. Rivera (his middle name is Maxwell) will first perform Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite (1996) and its 1998 follow-up Embrya on July 20, then the next night tackle Now (2001) and his Grammy-winning 2009 collection BLACKsummers’night.

The shows also will serve as a fund-raiser for President Obama, as custom Obama/Biden 2012 merchandise will be sold at Staples, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting Obama for America. The campaign also will be on hand at the gigs to sign up volunteers to help register voters in battleground states.

Maxwell will perform the following albums:

7/20 - Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (1996) and Embrya (1998)

7/21 - Now (2001) and BLACKsummers'night (2009)

His fourth studio album and first in eight years, BLACKsummers'night is the sound of an artist taking the commitment to his craft and the conversation with his audience that much further. Needless to say, it is a conversation that's been overdue; but as the soft-spoken, multi-platinum artist sees it, in order to come back it was necessary to step away. "I wanted to return to ‘what was the promise?'" Maxwell offers. "What did my music and creativity speak of to people? For me, coming back to that promise was kind of where my heart was really gravitating towards. I didn't intentionally step away from all of it, but I just wanted to...live my life a little bit, and then be able to make music with that pure experience again."

~ giantstep.net