“Black Violin” reviewed by Amy Menzel

***** Pack a bag, Chicagoans! Black Violin is stopping in Rockford, Saturday, October 11 before they continue their Full Circle Tour out West. They’ll come back to Illinois, but it’ll be a bit (details below), and I don’t think you wanna wait. This Grammy-nominated group brings a performance that’s playful and powerful in equal measure. In other words, fun awaits. Get there.

I was fortunate to catch Black Violin’s stop at the Marcus Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee Thursday night. I loved it. I loved watching folks file in – couples on a weeknight date, familial duos, friends on a fun night out, people waving across the house at familiar faces, folks leaning in for selfies to capture the moment. I loved the goosebumps I got when Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus took the stage and hit their first few notes. I loved the energy of their accompanying musicians: a drummer, a keyboardist, and a DJ. I loved learning about their journey, which started back in 1996 when the two violinists were high school orchestra classmates back in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

This tour celebrates the duo’s 20 years together. It was a journey that was launched with four appearances on Showtime at the Apollo, which they paid homage to during last night’s show – complete with a replica of The Apollo’s Tree of Hope. Their entrance, preceded by audio introducing their performance from their 2005 appearance, was one of my favorite parts of last night’s show. A few other favorite parts, in no particular order, include…

a dynamic rendition of Teddy Swim’s “Lose Control” (during which, many in the audience sang along)
a very enthusiastic young fan who acknowledged the end of each song by excitedly clapping with her hands raised high above her head
“Beautiful Day” from their latest album
their freestyle set, featuring each musician in an extended solo
the lights (which I realize might sound strange, but the lighting is fantastic and really adds to the fun)
the shoutout to teachers (it made this exhausted teacher/reviewer smile even more than I already was)
when Kev Marcus encouraged young musicians to “practice, practice, practice,” and someone behind me turned to their young musician and said, “He’s talking to you.”
when Marcu followed up by saying, “Find the thing you love to do and change the world with it.”
the group’s performance of “Live My Life” to close the show

You might think my list of favorite parts is almost a complete recap of the entire show – and it nearly is. But I did tell you to pack your bags to start, right? So…what are you waiting for? I can’t more highly recommend you go see this show.

★★★★★

Black Violin comes back to IL:
11/12/25 – Champaign
2/10/26 – Skokie
2/15/26 – Joliet
Learn more about Black Violin at blackviolin.net.