Photo Credit: Hope West / Written By: Kimberly Kennedy Charles
Eric Roberson brought Fire… the music from the new EP that is… to Center Stage Theater in Atlanta on Saturday, November 4, 2017. The packed show celebrated the release of Fire– the third EP in the ambitious trilogy of EPs Roberson released this year called Earth, Wind & Fire. It’s ambitious, because Roberson covers A LOT of ground on these EPs. From the gravity of the circle of life on “The Hospital Song” from Earth, to a man fearing he may have missed his chance to settle down with the woman of his dreams on “Claire” from Wind and the lost innocence and life of a 12-year-old boy on “Tamir” from Fire— which he performed during the show.
Eric Roberson dispersed many of his hits throughout the show including the three most requested songs by fans on social media for the Atlanta show–“Softest Lips”, “She” and “Pretty Girl”. There was also some comedic “cutting up” with a silly, impromptu song about beautiful women called “If God Made It Is It Wrong To Look”.
The show wasn’t completely lighthearted however. Roberson did perform songs from the Fire EP, and as the title suggests, it might be the most fervent of the trilogy as Roberson deals with some hot-button topics. As mentioned earlier, he performed the somber “Tamir”. Before he did, he told the crowd that it was the most important song he’s ever written in his life. Roberson said, “We’re not supposed to get this type of news and just go with our daily lives.” Then, he dedicated the song to the Rice Family– the family of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was fatally shot by police in Cleveland, Ohio in 2014 after they responded to a call that a black male was pointing a gun. The gun turned out to be a toy. In the song Roberson says,
“When I was young I had a toy gun
Used to wave it at everyone
As a kid that’s what we did
We were just kids being kids
Wouldn’t let my boys have one now
Some cops won’t hesitate to gun a kid down.”
He goes on to say, “Don’t mind me as I shed a tear for 12-year-old Tamir.”
Later, the mood shifted again as there was a fantastic old-school set where The Notorious B.I.G. meets Frank Sinatra, and other classic hop-hop jams (and a gospel one too) were performed that you’ll have to attend a show to fully enjoy.
Eric Roberson understands his position as a leader [if not the leader] of this independent soul movement and he is very gracious toward his fans on stage– he treated Atlanta to over two hours of performing, as well off stage–he signs CDs and greets fans after the show. Definitely worth showing a little love in return by attending a show AND buying a set of the Earth, Wind & Fire… or two.
Hope West is a music enthusiast and music photographer who has captured artists like B.B. King, Janet Jackson, Teddy Riley and many others. A life long lover of music, Hope is a graduate of Full Sail University where she studied music engineering. She’s also a proud “Florida Girl” born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. and currently resides in Atlanta, GA as a “Georgia Peach”. Hope is known for her creativity, sense of humor and quirky perfectionism. Artist(s) that make her freak out as a music fan: Sheila E., Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Quincy Jones.
