TC Carson - An Evening of Jazz and R&B
Date: February 25, 2025
Location: Boston, MA
On a Tuesday night, TC Carson graced Boston with a vibrant Jazzy concert. Boston is the second stop of TC’s mini tour. The concert took place at City Winery where I’ve seen many artists perform including LFO, O-Town, BBMAK and Age of Madness.
I knew TC from the 90s sitcom, Living Single as Kyle Barker. TC is also known for his voice acting roles in Star Wars: Clone Wars, Clifford The Red Dog, Kratos and God of War. Admittedly, I wasn’t familiar with his music. This show was definitely my first Jazz music concert. I did listen to his songs on Spotify to prepare myself.
Tim Hall
Tim Hall, a local musician and performance poet, kicked off the show at 7:30 pm. Tim is currently a professor at the Berklee College of Music. One of his students actually accompanied him onstage, playing bass. Tim plays the saxophone while also being accompanied by the piano.
During his performances, Tim incorporates spoken word poetry and storytelling.His pieces mainly focus on Tim’s personal experiences as well as people he’s close to. My favorite piece was “Picture Perfect” which Tim dedicated to his parents’ long marriage sustaining pitfalls and triumphs. My other favorite is “Rise”, a piece describing the current difficult times we are facing and how we should stand up to ignorance. Overall, I thought his performance was deep, uplifting and challenged the audience. I also appreciated how he encouraged audience participation in his last piece, “Trust The Process”.
TC Carson
At around 8 pm, TC Carson entered from the backstage door, singing “Best Part”. Dressed all in white, he walked amongst the tables and greeted the crowd before making his way to the stage. TC is accompanied by a two-piece band of a piano and a clarinet/saxophone player.
Before TC sang the next song, he specifically ordered the audience to put down their phones and not record/take photos during the concert. He wanted an intimate connection with the audience instead of only seeing people’s screens. So I only recorded the beginning of the show and took pictures at the end. I actually appreciate this gesture because I could fully enjoy the show and immerse myself and focus on the performances.
His setlist included classic jazz songs, “Honeysuckle Rose”, “All Blues” and “Round Midnight”. My favorite performance was “My Funny Valentine”. The song truly demonstrated TC’s vocal range ability. His singing voice can go very high and go very low. TC also impressed the audience by flawlessly holding high falsetto notes during the song without breathing. “My Funny Valentine” is a beautiful love song in general. TC’s performance definitely set up the mood and created a romantic atmosphere.
I also enjoyed his performance of “My Favorite Things” from the Sound of Music. TC put his own spin and improvisation into the song. He added “collard greens” as one of his favorite things. I also loved his version of John Legend’s “Ordinary People”. While I have seen John himself sing “Ordinary People” live, TC delivers a lovely rendition. He mixes up the bridge and verses up in a more uptempo beat.
The Verdict
Overall, I had a great time at TC’s concert. TC delivered a lively, entertaining and soulful show.
TC clearly shared chemistry and synchronization with the band. He is confident and feels at home on the stage. TC even took his shoes off and told the guests to feel at home. Definitely, the first time I saw a singer perform barefoot. I could tell that TC has a strong admiration of jazz music. That passion transpired onstage. There were times that TC was in his own little world because he was dancing, humming, bee-bopping and immersing himself into the music.
Nonetheless, TC was incredibly charismatic and could really connect with the audience. He was even a bit of a flirt. Despite the small turnout, the crowd positively responded to him by bringing a lot of hype and energy.
After the show, I got to meet him and thank him for a wonderful show. We posed for pictures, his manager using my phone to take the photos. TC was even kind enough to give me a signed copy of the setlist.
I hope he comes back to Boston!
