Photographed and Written by Marika N. Johnson | For The Birmingham Times
More than 35,000 fans filled Protective Stadium Saturday night as Chris Brown brought his sold-out Breezy Bowl XX Tour to downtown Birmingham, AL becoming only the second artist behind country singer and songwriter Garth Brooks (2022) to perform at the city’s largest outdoor multi-purpose venue.
For Brown, the stadium underwent a major transformation leading up to the show with staging, flooring additions, lighting rigs with 40 additional 18-wheelers of Breezy’s own elaborate staging equipment including the X shaped stages and larger than life inflatable statues seen framing the left and right of stage.
Gates opened at 5 p.m. and the show started promptly at 7 p.m. with opening acts Bryson Tiller and Jhene Aiko setting the tone for the night.
When Brown finally rose from beneath the stage, the deafening cheers from the crowd signaled the start of a high-octane, two-hour journey through his expansive twenty -year career. Breezy Bowl XX is a two-and-half-hour commemoration of his contributions to music and his many achievements with two Grammy Awards, numerous accolades, record sales, and consistent chart success.
Performing over 50 songs on his setlist, Brown delivered high energy for his “Day 1’s” opening the show with “Run It!” from his 2005 self-titled album. He took his fans through years of favorites that included “Don’t Judge Me”, “Take You Down”, “Back to Sleep” and “Residuals”. A massive LED screen served not only as a backdrop flashed stories of his life and artistry, including a touching video segment about his children and how fatherhood has changed his perspective.
Yasmine Marks and Fantasia Thomas of Birmingham, AL praised the execution of the entire production, “We can’t wait for another big show like this to come back to Birmingham,” said Marks. Thomas added, “the flight through the stadium was amazing,” referring to the moment when Brown, harnessed to cables during his second set, soared above the audience and around the stadium and landed on a platform high above the crowd.
With spectacular visuals, flawless choreography and unmatched energy, Brown’s Breezy Bowl XX Tour stop at Protective Stadium proved that Birmingham is ready for large-scale world-class performances and that Breezy can deliver an unforgettable night for thousands of fans.
Before closing, the King of R&B expressed gratitude for his warm reception in the Magic City and sounded reflective as he said, “only two more stops left” followed by a promise that left the crowd in a frenzy: “I’ll be back.”
