The block party had been underway for about an hour Saturday at Lou Fusz Plaza before the start of the performance element. Block parties are not new to the St. Louis CITY SC fan experience at Energizer Park. Quite the contrary. But this past Saturday’s celebration was more than six months in the making. It was a culminating program — the culmination of a months-long tribute to Tina Turner, who passed away in 2023, in the city that shaped her as a performer.
Since early spring, St. Louis CITY SC has honored Turner through a series of community events, music-driven activations and collaborations with local arts organizations. The club commissioned a special edition jersey in her honor, hosted educational programming about her legacy and partnered with COCA and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to bring her music into fan spaces throughout the season. Saturday’s block party served as the concluding chapter in that extended homage.
Before Tina Turner existed, Anna Mae Bullock spent her days walking through the halls of Sumner High School. At night she honed her craft as a performer in the clubs of St. Louis and East St. Louis with her future, then former husband Ike Turner. It was in St. Louis that Tina Turner was born.
“We put together a medley of Tina’s greatest hits,” said Dr. Phil Woodmore of COCA. “We are really excited to celebrate her legacy and the legend that she is here in our city.”
He directed the students who took part in the vocal music and performance curriculum he developed based on Turner’s hit music were about the same age as Anna Mae Bullock when she first stepped in front of a microphone.
“It has been so special for our students — who come from St. Louis — to learn from someone who also had a connection to the city who went on to change rock and roll,” said Daron Hendrix, senior director of development at COCA.
They performed as if they couldn’t wait to be in her footsteps. They stood on the choir risers and sang their hearts out.
Their medley included “Proud Mary,” “What’s Love Got to Do With It” and “Simply the Best.”
Soloists growled and belted in true Tina fashion.
The Tina Turner music party was just getting started. Another St. Louis native on track to follow in Turner’s footsteps performed “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” the song that ignited her unprecedented comeback. Backed by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Holmes did her version of “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”
Holmes and Grammy Award-winner Tamika Lawrence gave the guests who watched attentively across the outdoor seating area a taste of what they served up during the Eternal Tribute to Turner at Powell Hall.
Lawrence’s gravelly take on Turner’s “Private Dancer” was a hit once again, even though the small outdoor stage didn’t give her the space to crawl around the stage like she did at Powell Symphony Hall.
She made the most of the stage — and leaned more heavily on her vocals to tell the story.
Lawrence’s version of “Proud Mary” closed the performance element — but homage to Tina kept going. The signature jerseys in her honor — making her the first woman performer to be featured on an adidas soccer kit — were everywhere, even before the team donned them when they made their way to the pitch.
DJ Stazi, St. Louis CITY SC’s resident DJ, kept Tina Turner’s catalog in rotation. And before Holmes made her way to center stage again (the latter happened on the pitch) to perform the National Anthem, DJ Stazi quizzed her on her Tina Turner knowledge. Holmes was 3-for-3 as she completed the songs, including her favorite Tina Turner song, “Proud Mary.”
Thirty minutes after Holmes aced her Tina Turner quiz, she delivered a version of the National Anthem that would have made Turner proud.
And, wearing their Tina Turner-inspired jerseys, the team earned a win against the first-place ranked Houston Dynamo. The entire night, from the block party to the victory on the pitch, was a tribute fit for the queen of rock and roll.
I absolutely love me some Tina Turner. One of my favorite songs by her is Something Beautiful Remains.