Jackson Opens the Hollywood Bowl Summer Concert Season with Special Guest Ludacris and YOLA
(Credit: Janet Jackson Instagram)
It’s been six years, but Janet Jackson’s “Together Again” tour is set to open the Hollywood Bowl Summer Concert season on Friday, June 10, to kick off the 101 st year of the Bowl’s summer concert season.
Jackson will appear along with special guest Ludacris and the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) conducted by Thomas Wilkins. Opening Night at the Bowl will benefit the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its Learning and Community programs.
Jackson kicked off the” Together Again” Tour in April and celebrated the pop icon’s 50 years in the entertainment business, the 30 th Anniversary of her mega-selling 1993 album “Janet,” which spawned such hits as “Any Time, Any Place,” and the GRAMMY® Award-winning R&B song,”That’s the Way Love Goes.”
“Velvet Rope”.
(Credit: Instagram)
This tour also celebrates the 25 th Anniversary of her 1997 album, “The Velvet Rope.” This album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart upon its release and launched hits like “Together Again,” “Got ’til It’s Gone,” “I Get Lonely,” and the No. 1 funky, bass-driven hit “Go Deep.”
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The “Velvet Rope,” Jackson’s sixth album, was reissued in October 2022 with two bonus tracks and 13 new remixes. Atypical of Jackson, she shared intimate thoughts about the making of the “Velvet Rope.”
“This album is so, so close to me. It was, I would say, out of all the albums that I’ve created, and especially with Jimmy [Jam] and Terry [Lewis], it was the most difficult…the most difficult album for me to create,” Jackson said.
“I was going through so much in my life, and it was so deep in trying to find out and figure out who I am, where I stand.”
And Jackson, ever concerned about fans’ reactions to her music, raised the concern that fans might not like the new music. Jackson did not need to worry as fans rushed to purchase the album, and she would earn a GRAMMY® Award for Best Short Form Music Video for “Got ’til It’s Gone.”
Three-time GRAMMY® Award winner Christopher Brian Bridges, known professionally as Ludacris or Luda to the informed, says it “feels surreal” to be a part of the Jackson tour.
“There are people that come to these shows, and they’re bumping Janet’s music and bumping my music, and it just brings a smile to your face,” he said. A busy artist, Luda is also starring in the latest “Fast & Furious” movie, “Fast X.”
Jackson launched her career at the age of seven, a member of the world-famous Jackson family and baby sister of the later mega-star Michael Jackson, and she will share the opening-night stage with a group of 16 talented young musicians, members of the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA).
YOLA, the LA Philharmonic’s music education program, serves approximately 1,700 young musicians, and one can only imagine the excitement they feel as they prepare to share the stage with one of the biggest stars in the world.
Janet Jackson + Luda + YOLA, the Hollywood Bowl, Saturday, June 10. For more information, visit www.hollywoodbowl.com.
