By Kevin Rademeyer.
Credit Fullview for the Images.
Three decades of R&B history came alive on stage as Brian McKnight, All-4-One and SWV brought their unmistakable voices and enduring hits together for a night that reminded the audience why the genre’s golden era remains so influential.
From McKnight’s celebrated love songs to All-4-One’s signature harmonies and SWV’s infectious rhythms, the Ultimate R&B Experience was a powerful showcase of musical legacy, vocal excellence and songs that continue to connect generations.
With Brian McKnight, All-4-One and SWV sharing the bill, the concert brought together three acts whose combined experience spans more than 100 years in the music industry.
Each arrived with a distinctive sound and an extensive catalogue, but the common thread was unmistakable: timeless songwriting, exceptional vocal ability and songs that have remained part of the soundtrack to people’s lives long after their original release.
The tour began in Cape Town at GrandWest Arena on 28 October, before moving to Pretoria’s at Times Square for shows on 30 and 31 October.
On Friday night, 8500 people attended Africa’s premier live music arena, Sunbet Arena. They did not leave disappointed.
At the centre of the evening was McKnight, one of contemporary R&B’s most enduring voices. With more than 25 million albums sold worldwide and a catalogue that has travelled across generations, he has built a career on the sort of romantic balladry that can make a large arena feel surprisingly intimate.
His career includes multiple Grammy nominations, Soul Train recognition and a string of celebrated songs that have secured his place in R&B history.
But McKnight did not simply arrive to run through a collection of familiar hits. His performance had the feel of a variety show, moving between music, storytelling, humour and moments of personal reflection.
He played different instruments, spoke about his family and dedicated parts of the evening to the people closest to him.
Opening with Superhero, accompanied by a Mcknight Superman logo on the screen behind him, McKnight immediately established the mood. The set moved through When You Wanna Come, Love of My Life, Anytime, The Only One for Me, Faithfully and Still in Love, among others. His delivery remained rooted in the smooth vocal control and emotional phrasing that have defined his career.
One of the evening’s more personal moments came with Everything, which he dedicated to his wife as footage from their wedding played on screen.
Brian McKnight began dating Leilani Malia Mendoza in 2014, and they announced their engagement in May 2017, before getting married in December 2017. Tears rolled down his face as he completed the song.
My Legacy became a tribute to his youngest son, with McKnight explaining how fatherhood had helped shape him into a better person. These moments gave the performance a sense of intimacy beyond the usual exchange between artist and audience.
There was no shortage of familiar material. 6, 8, 12, Fall, Crazy Love and My Kinda Girl brought the crowd back to the songs that made McKnight a fixture on R&B radio.
The inevitable arrival of Back at One, Nobody and One Last Cry provided three of the evening’s defining moments, while Home helped bring his set to a close.
If McKnight brought the romance, All-4-One delivered the harmonies. The American quartet, comprising of original members, Jamie Jones, Delious Kennedy, Alfred Nevarez and Tony Borowiak, emerged from the 1990s with a sound built around carefully balanced four-part vocals and enduring love songs.
The group has sold more than 20 million albums and singles worldwide and earned a Grammy Award, an American Music Award and numerous other honours. T
Their breakthrough hit, I Swear, remains one of the defining ballads of the era, while songs such as I Can Love You Like That, So Much in Love and I Turn to You have continued to resonate with audiences.
Their set included I Can Love You Like That, I Turn to You, Skillz, These Arms, Someday and, of course, I Swear. The latter was a natural highlight, with the audience readily joining in. The quartet’s strength lies in its collective sound rather than individual showmanship, and that vocal blend remains the foundation of its appeal.
Their performance offered a reminder of how much craft goes into a great harmony group, particularly when the songs are familiar enough for an entire arena to sing along.
SWV, short for Sisters With Voices, brought a different energy to the occasion. The Grammy-nominated, award-winning trio helped define the sound of 1990s R&B, combining strong vocals with a more rhythmic, contemporary edge. With record sales reported in the tens of millions, the group’s influence is reflected in a catalogue that includes Weak, Rain, Use Your Heart, Right Here, I’m So into You and Can We.
Where McKnight leaned into intimacy and All-4-One offered melodic nostalgia, SWV shifted the atmosphere towards movement and celebration. Their performance brought a more assertive groove to the evening, giving the crowd an opportunity to trade slow dancing for clapping, singing and dancing.
Their greatest hits reminded the audience that 1990s R&B was never defined by ballads alone. It was also about rhythm, attitude and the confidence of artists who knew exactly what they brought to the stage.
The real achievement of the concert was the way these three acts complemented one another. McKnight offered the emotional pull of the solo love song, All-4-One showcased the enduring appeal of vocal harmony, and SWV supplied the rhythmic energy that kept the evening moving.
Together, they represented different but interconnected strands of R&B, each with a legacy built over decades.
The audience participated in all three performances. Lyrics were sung back to the stage, couples embraced during the slower songs, and friends shared the kind of knowing smiles that come with hearing music tied to moments in their lives.
The response suggested that these songs have not simply survived the passing of musical trends; they have become part of the memories attached to them.
For one concertgoer Neo Mathibe, the evening was about more than hearing favourite songs again: To have all three icons from the 90’s on one stage, on one night, is unbelievable. I might come again tomorrow”.
Speaking exclusively to Fullview SA, Portia Dlamini, described the experience as “Sensational from first note till last”
The Ultimate R&B Experience is built on nostalgia, but the performances showed that nostalgia alone is not enough to sustain a great concert.
The artists still have the voices, the songs and the stage presence to make the music work in the present. More than 100 combined years in the industry might sound like a statistic, but on stage it translated into experience, confidence and an understanding of how to connect with an audience.
On Saturday night, the tour ends but the promise is the same: an evening of songs that have outlasted their era and performers whose influence remains audible in contemporary R&B. The fashions and production styles of the 1990s may belong to another time. The music, clearly, does not.