R&B singer and songwriter J.Howell sang his heart out at his recent sold-out Atlanta show last weekend.
Over 600 Howlers and Howlettes, as he calls his fans, filled the Riverside EpiCenter on Saturday, March 2. Some fans even had flown or driven Atl to see Howell perform. But this figure doesn’t fully represent everyone who attended the sold-out show.
“There were a good 600 fans in attendance not including the ‘hey…can you get me in’ people because if we include them…whew,” Howell said with a laugh.
Howell has been performing at sold-out shows at City Wineries and other venues across the country, headlining his own shows. Howell performs hits off of his debut R&B album, “Red Room,” which was released in Aug. 2019, and his sophomore album, “Honest,” which was released in Sept. 2022.
Howell is multi-talented- between his voice, penmanship, and stage presence, he is a triple threat. With each performance, Howell gets better and better. The Atl performance was accompanied by Howell’s band, dancers, and backup singers, who were all amazing as well.
A DJ played all of the R&B hits while fans waited for Howell to hit the stage. Atl saxophone player Vic Beasley opened up the show, playing R&B favorites of Usher and Muni Long. He put on a show, too. Interacting with the crowd.
From the moment Howell stepped on stage, the vibe and energy were top-notch with everyone singing all the songs and experiencing Howell’s voice and performance. He sounds just like, if not better than, the record. It’s real singing- no lip-syncing. Just pure, raw, talent and passion. You can tell he loves what he does.
Howell tells ThisIsRnB that he wants his shows to continue to grow.
“Me and my team knew that the next Atlanta show had to be bigger than what I’ve done in the past,” Howell said. “It was time to up the stakes and put on the show that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. My manager understood my vision and reached out to an old industry friend who is the entertainment manager of the EpiCenter. As soon as my team and I saw the venue and all its capabilities, we knew it was the one. Plus, the staff also understood the vision I had to incorporate more lighting and visual effects.”
The show was a production and it was obvious there was a lot of time put into it. There was video footage of Howell displayed on the on-stage screens, which added to the show. Howell would either be dancing in the footage or singing along to one of his songs.
R&B Songstress Dondria also came and made a special surprise appearance to perform the song “Why You Love Me,” with Howell-it was magic.
Towards the end of the show, Howell gave his fans another surprise. He came into the crowd from the back of the venue, singing and handing out roses and hugs. Of course, everyone wanted Howell’s attention, and he tried his best to acknowledge as many people as he could. He ended the show with his classic single, “Something About Ya,” from the Red Room album.
All of the love he received that night is giving him the strength and confidence to keep going, he said.
”Selling out this show lets me know that I am on the right track, and no matter how hard it gets and how frustrated I get, this is bigger than me,” Howell said. “Being a true independent artist is not for the weak. There are many days when I doubt and question it all. But selling out this show inspired me to keep going. To know my music is touching people’s hearts and souls is priceless.”
Howell is very humble and down to earth. Many fans took advantage of the option to upgrade their tickets to attend a meet and greet and after-party to personally meet Mr. Redroom.
Howell took the time to meet fans and take photos with them. And he genuinely wanted to meet everyone. During the photo ops, talking had to be limited because there were so many fans. But, Howell did talk to many of his Howlers and Howlettes. He also posted a video on his socials thanking his fans.
Now that the ATL show is over, Howell said he is ready to make more music.
“I want to get back in my creative bag and work on some new music,” Howell said. “I’m ready to drop a new project and test out some new creative ideas, musically. And I’d like to take this show I did in Atlanta on tour.”
Stream Howell’s latest project, “Honest,” below:
Photo credit: Kayla Madonna
