His delayed flight from Philadelphia pushed the show back an hour, but veteran R&B crooner Eric Benét proved worth the wait at City Winery Sunday night.
Billed as “The Holiday Tour” to promote his first-ever Christmas album “It’s Christmas,” he leaned on familiar hits, covers, and seasonal gems to give fans the perfect show for the intimate setting.
Benét’s signature charm shone brighter than his festive red suit. He shared stories and delivered mint-condition vocals—including the pristine falsetto that set him apart from his male R&B crooner peers nearly thirty years ago with his solo debut “True to Myself.” The first of his two sets moved seamlessly from past to present, including selections from the two projects he released this year.
He took the audience on a journey through his career with backstories as engaging as his voice. He opened with the midtempo hit “Love Don’t Love Me” before sliding into “Sunshine,” a newer track that borrows from Mtume’s quiet storm classic “You, Me and He.”
Holiday spirit arrived with “I Really Don’t Want Much for Christmas,” originally performed with trumpeter Chris Botti. “I said, ‘If I ever did a Christmas record, this song would be on there,’” Benét said. He paid tribute to the song’s composer Jeremy Lubbock, whom he discovered as a teen through Al Jarreau’s “Not Like This.”
Covers added flavor throughout the night. His take on Prince’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover” came with a hilarious backstory: the time Prince called him on stage in Milwaukee, only for Benét to freeze in awe. “Prince knows my name—and that I’m from Milwaukee,” he recalled, before mimicking Prince’s expletive-laced scolding afterward.
Benét’s spot on Prince impersonation of the expletive laden choice words when he confronted Benét following the missed opportunity.
“[N-word expletive], the next time I call you up to my stage, you better sing your [expletive] off,” Prince said, according to Benét.
Before covering Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day,” Benét shared how the two once sat side by side on a bus ride commemorating the Selma march. He turned the crowd into his choir, directing them through the anthem’s joyful refrain. He also confessed that inviting Tamia to record “Spend My Life” was partly a romantic ploy. He found out otherwise when her future husband arrived with her.
“Grant [Hill] showed up at the studio and I was like, ‘Damn, this is about to be just work,” Benét said.
He circled back to holiday classics with Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” then offered a three-song taste of his The Co-Star album: “Something to Make Love To” with Tamar Braxton, “Must Be Love” with India.Arie, and “So Distracted” with Chante Moore. “People expected me and Chante to make a ballad,” he said. “Instead, we just had fun—and I thank y’all for making this number one.”
He dipped into his solo catalog, bringing the house down with “Sometimes I Cry—and lifting them to their feet with “Georgie Porgie.” The falsetto on “Sometimes I Cry” left the deepest mark. “You better sing your [expletive] off,” one woman shouted, echoing the Prince story Benét had shared earlier.
Eric Benét’s City Winery set was more than a holiday concert—it was a master class in storytelling, soul, and stamina. Delayed flight or not, Benét proved that when he takes the stage, the wait is always worth it.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
