Atlantic City was on fire Saturday night, and Singersroom was in the building to capture the soul-stirring moments.
R&B veterans Maxwell, Gladys Knight, and Vivian Green headlined the second night of the Mothers Day Festival, which marked its 10th Mothers Day weekend in Atlantic City. Played in the middle of Boardwalk Hall, people came out in droves; we’re talking from the newly legals to Grandmas, to witness this beautiful night of R&B music.
Vivian Green kicked off the night Mothers Day festival, a week after releasing “Vibes,” the most added song on urban A.C. She went through her catalog of hits including her latest fan favorite “Get Right Back To My Baby.”
Gladys Knight followed and continued to show us that real talent will support you for life. The 73-year-old icon shared some encouraging words to all the mothers before performing “You’re the Best thing that ever happened to me,” and continued to deliver an eargasmic performance of her hits. Ms. Knight had the crowd rocking, especially all the older women.
3x Grammy award-winning artist Maxwell closed out the night with a performance of a lifetime. As soon as he appeared on stage, women flocked to the front like they were starving in hopes of getting a feel or taste of the soul crooner. One woman told me, “He should be my baby daddy.” Mind you, she was well over 50-years-old. I share that to give you a sense of the magic Maxwell created in the jam-packed room. Running through classics like “Bad Habits,” “Lifetime,” “Pretty Wings,” “Somethin’ Somethin,'” and much more, Maxwell served as the perfect ending to an intoxicating night of R&B music. Watch our short clip below of some of his renditions:
Over three days, the 10th annual Mothers Day Festival attracted over 26,000 people, 5,000 more than the year prior. Tourism leaders estimate the festival’s economic impact at about $8 million.
From its advent, the festival, reportedly the largest annual Mothers Day Music Festival gathering in the U.S. has been about more than musical performances. Clothing, art and crafts vendors, as well as Community Corner tables that house health and wellness, political, cultural and educational information to the nonprofit, Advancing Families, are all a part of the festivities. Nostalgia is still a huge part of the Mothers Day Festival.
Platinum Productions and Big Bloc Entertainment produce the annual Mothers Day Festival. Bill Ingram and Walt Reeder Jr. are Executive Producers.
See photos below:
Founder and Creator of Singersroom.com and IncredibleWork.com. Follow me on Instagram at @gary.gentles.