{"id":49551,"date":"2025-09-28T17:36:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T21:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=49551"},"modified":"2025-09-28T17:36:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T21:36:53","slug":"review-nxworries-house-of-blues-9-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2025\/09\/28\/review-nxworries-house-of-blues-9-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: NxWorries @ House of Blues 9\/24"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Israel Ramos<\/span><\/p>\n

Review by James Klein<\/p>\n

On Wednesday night, NxWorries, the duo of Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge, came to the House of Blues to deliver a celebratory and energetic set. Formed in Los Angeles, NxWorries debuted with \u201cYes Lawd!\u201d in 2016, blending .Paak\u2019s soulful vocals with Knxwledge\u2019s sample-heavy beats. Their 2024 follow-up, \u201cWhy Lawd?,\u201d won the Grammy for Best Progressive R&B Album. Now, the duo is embarking on their first North American tour, bringing Grammy-winning energy to Boston.<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside the venue, anticipation buzzed as fans lined up along Lansdowne Street. The venue glowed with blue lighting, and a digital screen projected a red curtain. A wooden dining chair sat beside a DJ booth in front of the curtain, hinting at the theatrics to follow.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the lights went down, Rae Khalil, another songwriter from the Bay Area, sat in the chair and delivered a charming set, impressing the crowd with swift rapping and jazzy vocal runs. Khalil gave an energetic, confident, and occasionally hilarious performance, packed with crowd interaction and lively dance moves. Khalil made sure each member of the audience was having a good time, getting everyone excited for NxWorries to take the stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Between the sets, the screen displayed various 3D characters, from Hank Hill to Kermit the Frog, dancing to techno music, before the red curtain returned and the lights went out. \u201cBoston, y\u2019all ready for NxWorries?\u201d The screen showed an animation of the duo pulling up on a tour bus as \u201cThankU,\u201d the opening track off \u201cWhy Lawd?,\u201d played. This led into the second track, \u201c86Sentra,\u201d as Knxwledge rose behind the screen on an illuminated DJ booth and Anderson .Paak took the front stage. Confetti burst from both sides of the stage as the beat dropped.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anderson .Paak appeared in a black suit and sunglasses, topped with an oversized fuzzy crown over a Chanel towel. The NxWorries emblem, a glowing white X, appeared onscreen, as Anderson .Paak introduced himself and Knxwledge, leading into \u201cWngs\u201d from \u201cYes Lawd!\u201d He serenaded the crowd with his smooth, jazzy vocals, playfully asking, \u201cBoston, do you feel sexy?,\u201d after the song.<\/span><\/p>\n

They reached back to 2016 with tracks like \u201cGet Bigger \/ Do U Luv,\u201d \u201cKutless,\u201d and \u201cWhat More Can I Say.\u201d Paak\u2019s charismatic vocals and dance moves brought the early material to life. He showcased his dancing with \u201cMove On,\u201d moving with salsa-inspired steps, the screen behind him mirroring his movements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout the show, this screen displayed a range of graphics, from solid colors to childhood photos, to more of Kermit the Frog dancing. While .Paak commanded the stage, Knxwledge worked mostly in shadows behind the booth, quietly nodding as he layered beats and samples. He drove the vibe of each song, delivering lo-fi beats, layering samples to create a textured soundscape for Anderson .Paak\u2019s smooth yet raspy vocals. The duo shone on songs such as \u201cLyk Dis,\u201d where .Paak sang and rapped over soul samples, taking his glasses off at the lyric \u201cSay, eye contact (Just like this).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another highlight came when Rae Khalil returned to deliver her verse on \u201cOutTheWay,\u201d dancing with .Paak and displaying more beautiful vocals. Anderson .Paak kept performing more from \u201cWhy Lawd?,\u201d bringing out a purse full of roses to throw into the crowd as he rapped his \u201cMoreOfIt\u201d verse. Next, the duo performed \u201cFromHere,\u201d where .Paak displayed his rich falsetto as white lights illuminated a disco ball above the crowd, creating a stunning visual effect on stage and around the venue, garnering an extended applause.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anderson .Paak took a short break for what Knxwledge called a \u201csing-along,\u201d mixing songs from Mary J. Blige\u2019s \u201cMary Jane (All Night Long),\u201d to Bobby Caldwell\u2019s \u201cWhat You Won\u2019t Do For Love,\u201d to Oasis\u2019s \u201cWonderwall,\u201d pairing the songs with groovy production for the crowd to dance and sing to. Anderson .Paak returned to the stage in a full-white suit, picking back up the energy with \u201cLink Up.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The duo played another early song, \u201cDroogs,\u201d before .Paak cut it off, joking \u201cI\u2019m too old for that shit.\u201d Anderson .Paak took a moment to appreciate Knxwledge and the success of their tour so far. He then said \u201cI wanna hear more singing,\u201d which led into Knxwledge playing Whitney Houston\u2019s \u201cI Wanna Dance with Somebody,\u201d which got the crowd going before the duo played their hit \u201cSuede,\u201d where most audience members sang along. Next came another highlight during \u201cEverybody Gets Down,\u201d where .Paak invited about 20 fans on stage to dance, then playfully ushered them off with, \u201cIt\u2019s my show!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the show wound down, Anderson .Paak joined Knxwledge in the DJ booth for \u201cDaydreaming.\u201d The crowd waved their lights in the air as the duo performed the dream-like hit. The song ended with another burst of confetti, and the duo bowed together. After bowing with Knxwledge, .Paak returned for an encore, performing \u201cWalkOnBy\u201d with Rae Khalil, closing the show with another burst of confetti.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NxWorries created an immersive show that radiated good vibes and often felt like a party. Anderson .Paak\u2019s effortless vocals and crowd-pleasing stage presence, matched by Knxwledge\u2019s understated yet powerful production, made for an unforgettable night. The duo\u2019s commanding performance and endless talent left the audience wanting more. If this tour is any indication, NxWorries is poised to continue captivating audiences for years to come.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Israel Ramos Review by James Klein On Wednesday night, NxWorries, the duo of Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge, came to the House of Blues to deliver a celebratory and energetic set. Formed in Los Angeles, NxWorries debuted with \u201cYes Lawd!\u201d in 2016, blending .Paak\u2019s soulful vocals with Knxwledge\u2019s sample-heavy beats. Their 2024 follow-up, \u201cWhy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25371,"featured_media":49552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525,1523,15],"tags":[659,202,2530,2529],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25371"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49553,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49551\/revisions\/49553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}