Though he already played Detroit the week prior, Stevie Wonder returned to his home state of Michigan on Wednesday for a show in Grand Rapids. The concert at the Van Andel Arena marked the culmination of the 25-time Grammy winner’s Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart tour in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
Wednesday’s concert hit close to home for Wonder, taking place a little over 100 miles from Saginaw, MI, where he was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13th, 1950. As Wonder noted shortly after he took the stage at 8:30 p.m., this was his first time performing in Grand Rapids. Making up for lost time, Wonder and his impressive 40-piece backing band delivered a soulful, comprehensive overview of his 63 years in music.
Wonder’s setlist spanned from his 1972 commercial breakthrough Talking Book with hits “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” (interpolated with a touching “You Are My Sunshine”) and “Superstition” to his latest single “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” which opened the show and gave the tour his name. An integral piece of Stevie’s artistic legacy is Motown and its subsidiary imprint Tamla, which began releasing his albums in 1962 when he was still known as Little Stevie Wonder. “Little Stevie” is all grown up now, and at 74 years old confidently commanded the packed arena through cherished songs “Higher Ground”, “Isn’t She Lovely”, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”, “I Wish”, and “Sir Duke” alongside stories and reflections from a career that has spanned seven decades.
In the leadup to the 2024 election, Wonder has tried to use his music as an instrument of change—just as he has done since the civil rights movement. His message of love has remained steadfast throughout his lifelong career, and his mantra of unity is needed now more than ever. As he told the audience in the introduction to “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart”, “in Grand Rapids we can change the world!”
Check out a gallery of crowd-shot images from Stevie Wonder in Michigan on Wednesday courtesy of photographer Steve Baran along with some videos from the audience.
Stevie Wonder — “Isn’t She Lovely” — 10/30/24
[Video: Vince Vogg]
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