Three top male vocalists and one classic all-male group take the stage at Encore Theater through Labor Day 2022, proving the stage will be ablaze with the boys of summer.
The Wynn Summer Playlist features three of our favorite hits curated from each legendary artist — Brian McKnight, Maxwell, David Gray and Duran Duran. Get to know new music, relive the favorites and learn the backstory behind the biggest hits.
July 22: An Evening with Brian McKnight
We will put money on McKnight, who has sold 30 million albums worldwide, including these three songs in his set list: "One Last Cry," "6, 8, 12" and "Back at One." Not only are they his biggest hits but when you hear his name you assuredly will start humming one of these R&B classics.
"One Last Cry"
The fourth single from McKnight's first album 1993's "One Last Cry," this was his first solo hit on on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Fellow singers love this tune and both Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake covered.
"6,8, 12"
A classic breakup song over which many tears have been shed, McKnight's "6,8, 12" signifies "6 months, 8 days, 12 hours," as the singer laments he still misses his love lost, and wonders what she's up to and if she still cares.
"Back at One"
Debuting in 1999, "Back at One" reigns as one of McKnight's biggest successes, reaching the top 10 in New Zealand, Canada and the United States, where it peaked at No. 2 for eight weeks.
July 23: David Gray—White Ladder, The 20th Anniversary Tour
David Gray's "White Ladder" created a paradigm shift in the music industry when it spent three years in the UK top 100. It was the right thing in the right place at the right time, catching the mood at the end of the century and the start of a new one. With hit singles "Babylon," "Please Forgive Me" and "White Ladder" sold 7 million copies worldwide, remains in the top 30 best-selling British albums of all time and is the best-selling album ever in Ireland.
"Babylon"
The perfect emotional ballad, Gray's 1999 "Babylon" is pure silk. From 1998's White Ladder, it found its way up the charts in both America and the UK. Even if you don't know Gray by name, it is impossible to forget those wailing notes.
"This Year's Love"
If Adele called "This Year's Love" one of the greatest break up songs of all time, then that's all you really need to know.
"White Ladder"
From the album of the same name that spanned Gray's chart-topping career, "White Ladder" shouldn't be overlooked as a title track that lives up to its name.
July 27, 29 and 30: Maxwell “blacksummers'NIGHT”
The “blacksummers'NIGHT” album is Maxwell's sixth, closing out the trilogy he began with the No. 1 GRAMMY Award-winning “BLACKsummers'night” in 2009. Take a journey through his career, starting with the 1996 hit “Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite” to 2016’s “blackSUMMERS'night,” earning him a third Grammy.
"Ascension"
1996’s "Ascension” put Maxwell on the map. From his game-changing album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite. This R&B jam is equal parts sexy and catchy.
"Pretty Wings"
If you want to know Maxwell, listen to “Pretty Wings,” from his fourth studio. This song won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and was nominated at the 52nd GRAMMY Awards for Song of the Year and Best R&B Song.
"Fortunate"
The lyrics say it all, with gratitude "Never had room service all night
Never took a trip first class flight
Never had a love affair so tight
I've never felt a feeling so right
Never seen a winter so white
Never had words to recite
Never had a flame to ignite
And I never sang a song with all my might."
September 1 and 3: Duran Duran Future Past
British music icons, Duran Duran have sold over 100 million records, with 18 American hit singles and 21 UK Top 20 tunes and have continued to perform to concert audiences around the world since they first formed in 1980. When it comes to getting to know the band ... there are three places to start: "Girls on Film," "Rio," "Hungry Like the Wolf."
"Girls On Film"
The 1981 breakthrough single from "Careless Memories" didn't even chart in the U.S. upon release and now we couldn't think of living without it.
"Rio"
If you grew up in the ‘80s, you wanted to be named Rio and “dance in the sand.”
"Hungry Like the Wolf"
From the 1982 album “Carnival,” this song has seen it all and done it all in its 40 year life span. Released in the onslaught of the MTV era, this animalistic video astonished everyone at the time and today remains one of the most important visual-musical works of that decade.