Patti LaBelle is coming to the Met to play her first hometown show in four years
Patti LaBelle will play the Met on Dec 9. Janelle Monae also announced a Met show for Sept. 18.
Summer hasn’t officially arrived, so is it too early to be thinking about the holiday season?
Not so far as Patti LaBelle is concerned.
On Monday, the Philly soul and R&B legend announced a holiday-themed show at the Met Philly on North Broad Street scheduled for Dec. 9.
The 78-year-old singer, cookbook author, and creator of the frozen food brand Patti’s Good Life maintains a busy schedule. She kicks off her latest U.S. tour on June 15 in Tulsa, Okla.
But she hasn’t played a headlining show of her own in her hometown of Philadelphia since performing at Parx Casino in 2019.
During the early days of the pandemic, she starred in a popular episode of the musical battle show Verzuz along with Gladys Knight that was webcast from the Fillmore Philadelphia in Fishtown.
And last year, she starred in a wildly entertaining episode of Drink Champs!, sitting for a career-spanning interview with hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN. Her groundbreaking 1970s Black rock and soul group LaBelle was celebrated in Adele Bertei’s 2021 book Why LaBelle Matters.
“Each year I grow, and that’s a blessing from God,” LaBelle said in a statement, announcing the tour date. “I do what I can do. I do what I feel God has given me the energy to do, so I just go out there and I do it. … It’s not about making money because I don’t need money, but I need to sing. With a voice or without, I’ve got to get on that stage.”
Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at LiveNation.com
In other notable concert news, Janelle Monáe, whose new album, The Age of Pleasure, comes out Friday, will play the Met on Sept. 18. And storied Mexican pop-rock band Maná will bring their “México Lindo Y Querido” tour to the Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 21.