Brian McKnight is a veteran R&B crooner with a consistently loyal fanbase. His timeless music based on love, relationships, breaking up and making up is something we never get tired of hearing. During the world wide pandemic that hit on a national level in 2019, artists’s ability to tour and do live performances came to a screeching halt as concert venues were forced to close their doors to large audiences due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Now it’s 2021 and the doors to the Mable House Barnes Amphitheater have reopened and McKnight will be performing there on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021. Rolling out got a chance to speak with McKnight before the show.
Is it true that you have relocated to Atlanta?
There was a rumor going around that I moved to Atlanta. I’m not saying yes and I’m not saying no, but I have heard that rumor.
Do you love Atlanta?
I think Atlanta is one of those places in our country that is definitely a place of its own. There is no other place in the world like Atlanta. So many different things converging all at the same time and it’s in the South. There are certain parts that seem like the South, but it’s also like Chicago and New York in that it’s hip in its own way. … It’s a real melting pot that you wouldn’t imagine would be there, especially being from New York.
So at 26 years old in 1995 when you were writing love ballads, how many relationships had you actually been in?
None. Well, I had been married, but I don’t consider that a relationship because I wasn’t in love with that person. The only relationship I have ever been in is with my wife Lelani that I’m married to now, who I met when I was 42 years old.
What can people look forward to when it comes to your live performance now?
When it comes to my live show, I want to give the audience exactly what they came for. I think it will be a night of nostalgia. I would do the audience and myself a disservice to not perform all the songs from back in the day that they are coming to hear. I’m going to transform the audience to the day when they first heard the songs we spoke of earlier. I’m going to play and perform all those songs to the best of my ability. I want to make them laugh and leave wanting to hear more.
Even when I know a show is sold out or I know people are coming, I kind of play this game with myself. For every show, I tell myself nobody is going to show up so that when people do show up, I feel a real need to give it everything I’ve got to prove that they came for the right reason and that hopefully, they come back. This has eventually led to a 30-year career. It’s mind-blowing. I’m grateful.
Check out the audio of the entire interview after the break.
