314 Day rewind. I am typing with a straw in my mouth right now because I took it way too far in the name of 314 Day this weekend. In all fairness to me, 20 years is worth going hard in the paint for. After that last Mobb Out that was in perfect sync with Koko C’vere, I knew the rest of the week was gonna be a problem. I got in my car and heard a pop in my shoulder when I turned the steering wheel. I thought about mobbing up into Christian Northeast! But y’all didn’t come here to hear about this battered, bruised and tore up borderline elderly shape, so let’s get to it. March 14, 2026 will go down in history as an absolute movie in St. Louis city, county and surrounding areas. Actually beyond the surrounding areas if you count what went down in Texas, Georgia and D.C. And it got cracking before the actual 314 Day. Nothing but death or wisdom tooth pain could have kept me from Chevre Friday night for the Animal House reunion party. When I tell you a time was had. Ben Gay and Icy Hot had to be involved afterwards, because we tore it up like we were up in the Lewis and Clark Tower. I got up bright and early to make my way to Overland Plaza for the 314 Day Block Party at Hibbett Sports. And by bright and early, I mean 2 p.m. I knew it was packed to the gills because the Page exit on 170 South was lowkey looking like Hollywood Casino Amphitheater on a show night. I pulled up in that parking lot and was absolutely right. It was a sea of red and blue thanks to the St. Louis Cardinals and Blues gear. Can somebody tell y’all’s cousin not to wear that yellow wig with her Blues jersey next year? It was a bit much. Anyway, it was all the way live outside. Does anybody else have “You Stupid” stuck in their heads? And Overland Plaza let me know exactly what to expect when I made my way to The Pageant for the 314 Day Concert of all 314 Day Concerts. I also scooted over to the 314 Day Party with Nine PBS and it was litty lit just like everything else!
Credit: Photos by Lawrence Bryant and Taylor Marrie | St. Louis American
314 Day part deux. Phil Assets and Friends (I see you, Vanessa Townsend-Vann) have most certainly made my best of 2026 end of the year round up with that epic 314 Day Concert they pulled off at The Pageant. And I’m saying this knowing full well that it is only March. The crowd pulled up dressed for the city—red and white for the Cardinals, blue and yellow for the Blues and there were even some St. Louis Rams era blue and gold blended in. Yo…Shorty Da Prince, The Lunatics and all kinds of other folks hit the stage and had me realizing what I put my knees through with all that early 2000s twerking. Webbie had us in a trance the moment he touched the stage. And if I had the concert to do all over again, I wouldn’t have let my phone die before “Not a Stain on Me” dropped, so y’all could see for yourselves how lit it was. Can someone please explain how is it that I can remember every single word to Murph’s verse, but have to reset my Hulu password every time I accidently log myself out?
Credit: Photos by Lawrence Bryant and Taylor Marrie | St. Louis American
314 Day swag best in show. Because folks were repping the city with style – whether it was storebought, custom made or homemade – I’ve decided to give a moment to the folks who slayed STL style for 314 Day. Tierha, if you don’t give me that electric blue clutch that matched your St. Louis Blues jersey! I must admit that I have never wanted to become a purse snatcher so bad in all my life. And if I did, I would be the first robber in the history of doing hoodrat stuff who could care less about what’s inside the bag! Lucy, your STL red overalls were absolutely every single thing. It was understated, but I really enjoyed Louise of Epiphany Boutique’s quilted crop bomber jacket and STL cap. Don’t get it twisted. Her name might give “Rough Side of the Mountain” or Mississippi Mass Choir, but her style game utterly undefeated. Speaking of caps, Kawanna’s custom fitted ballcap with denim embellishments baseballs and bats on it made me take a second look. Yes, it was busy. No it was not tacky. Breonna Hargrove, that Blues Jersey you turned into a belly blouse was life more abundantly. Can you sew me one in a 2X. I said what I said…and yes, I said I wanted a 2X belly shirt. Y’all better get into this body positivity era! And I didn’t catch his name, but the brother at the Overland Plaza block party in front of Hibbett Sports with the hoodie that had the highway 170 insignia on the sleeve deserves a nod. And since we’re talking about Overland Plaza, I won’t call you out by name, but I saw a couple of the folks walking out of Ross Dress For Less with bags and changing into their 314 Day fit as they made their way across the parking lot. Your secret is safe with me.
Credit: Photos by Lawrence Bryant and Taylor Marrie | St. Louis American
Jordan Ward is on his next level. Eight or nine years ago, I talked about how this young singer who was a featured artist at a Delmar Hall show. I said with some polishing he had the potential to rep for St. Louis R&B on a national scale. I love it when I get to say I told you so! Last week Jordan Ward came back to Delmar Hall for his headlining THE APARTMENT TOUR. He proved he has the potential to be a major player of an R&B renaissance among the Gen Z folks. I can’t wait for the rest of the world to catch on, because he had me in that concert ready to proclaim him the prince of R&B’s next era. Anybody in the building Friday night knows that he is ALREADY a star.
And the nominees are…I’ve been bigging up the first-ever St. Louis American Reader’s Choice Awards for weeks. What made you think I was about to stop now? I couldn’t let it slide that the window will be closing for you to make your nominations at the end of the month. Please don’t leave your people hanging. Nominate them at www.stlamerican.com/readerschoice/