Soft & Tender–In Brooklyn
First stop of the 2025 Soft & Tender Tour: LOUDMOUTH, BROOKLYN, NY
On March 29th, 2025, my team and I embarked on our first tour stop at a record shop called LoudMouthBK in the heart of Brooklyn. As I left my friend’s Bed-Stuy brownstone steps that morning, I took a moment to verbally thank the universe for gifting us the first 80-degree day of the year. Throughout my career, I’ve been blessed with the most beautiful weather on days we’ve hosted events, and this morning added to the legacy.
By the evening, folks were filing through the door, shoulder-to-shoulder, curious to see if this unknown artist from Chicago, claiming to have an innovative conversation series and consciously entertaining music, could follow up on what had been advertised. As they say, the proof is in the work itself.
We started with a set from DJ Mamoudou - a professor by day and a vibe-setter by night. Folks gathered, communed over boxed wine, and explored the gallery of local artists on display within the walls of LoudMouth. We then settled the room into a Soft & Tender conversation with Kahiem Rivera and Harvey Leon - two friends who became brothers that evening. As we unpacked layered conversation about abandonment (some by choice, some by loss), forgiveness, healing, and empathy, sounds of sniffles, laughter, and grunts of agreement could be heard from the audience. My favorite part of doing live conversations is seeing what resonates with folks in real-time. These men were telling the audience's story simply by unpacking their own. One friend mentioned how this conversation felt the most therapeutic out of any S&T conversation to-date, and I couldn’t agree more.
After the conversation, we closed the night with performances from me and Kahiem, including unreleased music from both of us. A homie by the name of Manuel - who I just recently met at a birthday party in Chicago - came through and impromptu backed me up with sax and trombone. It’s not a true Rich Robbins performance if there aren’t live horns on the stage. It felt so right to perform new music in an entirely new space, with Chicago backing me up.
As far as first tour stops go, this was one for the books. I learned a lot about the importance of documenting these career milestones and collecting data to set up future success. As I write this, I’m sitting in a condo in Ohio, post-performing my original work in a historic art museum. The tour continues! But I wanted to take a moment to sit, reflect, and admire the accomplishments in front of me. The world is hungry for Soft & Tender. There’s more work to be done. See you in the next city!
Love,
Rich
