Patti LaBelle’s Sold Out Party in the Park and Aretha Franklin Dedication
Patti LaBelle’s Sold Out Party in the Park happened last night, where she spoke of Aretha Franklin
Last night marked my 18th Patti LaBelle concert, you could call me a fan. It’s my 3rd Patti Patti concert this year, which is so thrilling
to me as there was a Patti drought for a few years in the oo’s in Philly. I saw her in NYC then.
The concert was SOLD OUT, which was fabulous. Last year at the Dell it rained, and it pained me for Patti to see people didn’t turn
out for the Godmother of Soul. First stop for me was the Visit Philly 
Homesick Philly party. They gave out cool “gift bags” with xoxo key chains and a blanket for the grass. 
There were lots of treats representing Philly, especially if you’re homesick
Chill Moody, the Nice rapper and Homesick Ambassador was on hand, as well as the legendary Ms Patty Jackson.
The evening began with the sexy, calming voice of Philly-based jazz singer Laurin Talese, who was encouraged to do 2 encores from the crowd that adored her. 
In between acts is where the Party in the Park comes alive with DJ Gary O playing music
that gets the crowd up on their feet dancing
MCing the evening was Patty Jackson, WDAS, who brought out her son, Robert on stage. It was great to see him as over the years Patty has talked about him
and we all have seen him grow into a fine young man.
First time appearance at the Dell, Grammy-winning jazz singer Gregory Porter entertained the crowd for a good part of an hour, and even though he stood between Patti and me, I didn’t mind as his songs were smooth and full of stories.
More crowd up on their feet
Party in the Park
and in the aisles
Then it was Ms Patti LaBelle’s time, she sang a lot of her classic songs – When You Feel Blesses, On My Own and my favorite If Only You Knew, and even took requests from the audience a few times
Singing Little Girls to this women, who’s told Patty that she and her mother were friends, but her mom has since passed. BTW I love that Ms Patti has a coat rack on stage. 
Patti LaBelle then tearfully paid tribute to Aretha Franklin. Patti went on to tell us that after Aretha Franklin died, her sister in law called her and asked her to perform at her service Aug 31, they said Aretha planned her service in December and Patti Labelle was at the the top of the list. Unfortunately Patti is already booked and unable to make it as she’s at the Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival August 31. So at last night’s concert Patti paid tribute to Aretha Franklin and recorded one of her signature songs ‘You are my Friend’ to be played at the service next week. (Here’s a story on who’s playing at Aretha’s funeral)
Patti reflected on life and love during her concert, and encouraged others to choose love over hate, as well as cherish their lives as we never know when
it’s our time to go.
She also mentioned her friend Bunny Sigler who passed last year. 
Patti also brought out her grandbabies – Gia has her own instagram, but hasn’t posted in awhile 
Heading to my car I ran into this fun duo with their friends.
Patti LaBelle you are a Philadelphia Treasure!!!
Thank you!!
Til next time.
