Erykah Badu turned The Fillmore Silver Spring into a late-night séance on August 17, drifting onstage to “Echos” and setting a heady, slow-burn tone for a phone-free crowd sealed in Yondr pouches. With The Alchemist at the decks and The Cannabinoids threading live textures, the room felt equal parts lab and lounge — an invitation to lean in rather than film from afar.
ChatGPT produced this overview to accompany original photos by Chris Castillo.
Billed as part of the short Luv Iz/Abi & Alan run, the show served as a living preview of Badu’s forthcoming collaboration with The Alchemist, which the pair have been road-testing ahead of its late-August release. The material landed like postcards from the same dreamy city: “I Just Play a Part” and “Crossfade” smeared neo-soul warmth over Alchemist’s smoked-out drums; “3:AM” and “Valentine” pulsed with nocturnal hush, Badu’s phrasing feather — light but exact. Erykah Badu and The Alchemist closed their show with the new album’s “Next to You.”
Watch the official visualizer for “Next to You” by Erykah Badu and The Alchemist on YouTube:
Between new pieces, The Alchemist salted the set with signature flips and nods—snatches of “We Gonna Make It,” “Keep It Thoro,” and “Hold You Down” briefly re-centering the night in hip-hop classicism before dissolving back into the duo’s gauzy palette. The push-pull kept the energy elastic: Badu floated, Alchemist grounded, and the band stitched the worlds together.
Badu’s catalog surfaced in choice cameos rather than full detours. “Window Seat” unfurled like a memory you can still taste, her ad-libs playful and conspiratorial; later, “Hello” drew one of the night’s loudest sing-backs, proof that even amid a debuting project, the room had come to commune with Baduizm’s author. Set times ran a tight 95 minutes, late start and all, befitting a Sunday night that still felt like a secret.
Silver Spring’s date was advertised as sold out, and it felt it—pressed bodies, soft chatter turning to hush when the bass hit, then to grins as Badu cracked a smile and rode the pocket. If the goal of this tour is to introduce Abi & Alan rather than simply promote it, mission accomplished: The songs breathed before they’ll be frozen to record, and the audience met them in real time. In a summer of big-room flexes, Badu and The Alchemist chose intimacy and intent — and the gamble paid off.
Fitting with the tour’s mystique, Erykah Badu and The Alchemist supplied approved photographers with disposable cameras to capture the show. Chris Castillo did just that. Here are some photos taken by disposable cameras of the performance of Erykah Badu and The Alchemist at The Fillmore Silver Spring on August 17, 2025.
