Denver welcomed the great Micheal Kiwanuka on a beautiful fall evening, Oct. 8, at Mission Ballroom. This is the first we’ve seen Micheal and his band in Denver since 2021, for his Love and Hate tour. Just when fans thought Michael couldn’t get any better, his 2024 performance certainly proved them wrong.
Micheal Kiwanuka co-headlined this tour with the brilliant Brittany Howard, who is best known for her work as the lead vocalist and guitarist for The Alabama Shakes, an esteemed southern rock band that blends elements of soul, blues, and motown to create their distinctive sound. This tour is in anticipation of his fourth studio album Small Changes, which will be released on Nov. 15. I am anxiously awaiting its release just as much as the next person, but Micheal’s past albums still have much to offer. His latest album,KIWANUKA, released in 2019, is a Mercury Prize winning masterpiece.
As the light’s dimmed and the crowd fired up, Micheal kicked off the night with “Hard to Say Goodbye” off the aforementioned sensation of an album that is KIWANUKA. From that very first note, Micheal set the mood for the evening, and man, was it a good one. While there is no doubt that Micheal is the virtuoso that he is, he could not do it without his amazing support band. Micheal, on vocals and electric guitar, was joined with a lead guitarist, a bass guitar player, a percussionist, a keyboardist (who also was occasionally on percussion), and a trio of angelic background vocalists.This fantastic ensemble came together to create the crowd-puller that is Micheal Kiwanuka live.
Micheal’s production did a fantastic job at truly setting the atmosphere with stunning background visuals that truly encapsulated the raw emotion in his music, including touching scenes of people hugging, babies, folks enjoying each other’s company, couples doing plain everyday activities, vintage street footage, and scenes of nature. It was so simple, yet so heartwarming. The one that stood out the most was a clip of a sunset, framed so only the sun and a few surrounding clouds were visible. It was not sped up, it was not filtered: it was an unadorned video of the sun setting. When the sun was fully set, the song was over and that was it. It was unambiguous and it was lovely.
Micheal’s ability to blend elements of soul, jazz, rock, and folk together to create his unique sound is absolutely phenomenal. Pair that with his room-rumbling voice that’s fit for a grand chapel, and you get an emotive, striking, and downright terrific musical experience. Micheal Kiwanuka’s library of songs is one for the masses; he truly has something for everyone to enjoy. Not a single body in that room was stationary, from the foot taps of the husbands dragged along to the outright ballroom dances going on. The crowd was a blend of people from all walks of life, and that was something that is truly magnificent. Live music always has the ability to bring people together, but Micheal and his band’s set made you feel like the stranger standing next to you was a neighbor you’ve known for a decade.
Micheal closed out the night with his hit “Love and Hate,” a thought provoking song with delightful melodies and rhythmical sound, instilling in the listeners his pure musical genius. His return to Denver can’t come soon enough.
Photos by Sawyer Matz.
