Leon Bridges is a throwback to an earlier era of singers.
His soulful voice reminds me, at times, of Marvin Gaye and, at other times, of Curtis Mayfield.
Thursday night, the Fort Worth, TX native brought that voice to Chicago for the first of two shows at the Auditorium Theatre. Sporting a gold snakeskin jacket and white pants, he even looked retro.
We arrived shortly before the opening act - Hermanos Gutiérrez - began. This brother duo from Ecuador entertained us with their hypnotic Latin guitar and percussion as the audience filed into the theater.
Nearly every seat was full when Leon Bridges took the stage. A seven-piece band surrounded the stage's perimeter in a semicircle while Leon stood at the front and center.
For nearly two hours, Bridges sang soul, rock, R&B, and ballads.
"Music brings people together that wouldn't normally be together," he told the crowd, who responded enthusiastically. But Bridges did not do much talking, allowing the music to deliver his message.
Songs like "Texas Sun," "River," and "Bad Bad News" show the singer/songwriter's range.
He closed with the beautiful love song "Beyond," a song that my son and daughter-in-law chose for their wedding dance earlier this year.