If we’re all honest with ourselves, most of those in their late 30s or older enjoy the idea of having nothing to do of an evening, putting on pyjamas and watching a film before heading to bed. Ask such people to go to a nightclub or drink late into the evening and they might feign enthusiasm, but they’ll be heartbroken in reality.
Perhaps, therefore, the folk behind the R&B Throwback Day Party have got the right idea, giving those that love the 90s and naughties the chance to reminisce about some of the bangers that they used to listen to, yet still be able to head home and be in bed by nine o’clock if that’s what they fancy.
What It’s All About
Simply put, this is a party that is all about reliving your youth. Whether it be slow jams or club bangers that you used to bop away to, you’re going to hear them played across a late afternoon’s worth of music that will take you back to your prime (presuming that that was in the 90s and naughties…) Offering a non-stop playlist of R&B classics, the songs that defined the era will be brought out and have the dust blown off them before being blasted out through the loudspeakers to the delight and entertainment of all. This is about old-school R&B, all being celebrated in an atmosphere that those that lived through the glory days remember.
Perhaps the key factor in all of this is that it is taking place in the daytime. Whilst we might have all headed out after dark in our youth, jamming along to the tunes until the wee early hours of the morning, that isn’t our reality anymore. Instead, the early hours are reserved for the deepest sleep of most of us, more than aware of the fact that we’ve got to get up early to slog away in a job we don’t enjoy to earn money for people who barely deserve it more than we do. Thankfully, the R&B Throwback Day Party gives everyone a chance to forget about their worries and their cares for a time, simply enjoying the music instead.
Where & When
If you want to know where you need to go for this R&B extravaganza, the good news is that it’s being hosted by a venue that you probably remember from your clubbing days. The Popworld in Guildford is where it’s all taking place, welcoming back those who might well have headed there several years ago but haven’t been back since. The event starts at 3pm, winding up at 8pm in order to allow those who have revisited their youth to either head off somewhere else or get back home early enough to feel as though it wasn’t too big a day. Of course, it isn’t just the older crowd that loves R&B, so you can expect some younger people there too.
That is why you need to make sure that you’ve got some identification on you, lest you look too young to have lived through the 1990s and 2000s and therefore have to prove how old you actually are. There will be singing and dancing aplenty as the afternoon wears on and more and more hits are dusted off and given a spin. The old-school R&B on offer is such that you are liable to remember virtually every tune that gets played, especially as there is a good chance that you’ll have most of them on a playlist somewhere on your devices. It is all taking place on Saturday, the 28th of February, so make sure you keep the date free.
What You Can Expect
The joy of an afternoon such as this is such that you can expect a wealth of different songs that you remember, love and enjoy. There will be plenty of offerings that come straight back to you as soon as they start playing, whilst others might dawn on you after a bit of time as being exactly the song that you used to dance and sing along to in your youth. In terms of the artists you’re liable to hear, the following will all almost certainly be on the DJ’s list:
- Aaliyah
- Alicia Keys
- Amerie
- Ashanti
- Beenie Man
- Beyoncé
- Boyz II Men
- Brandy
- Cassie
- Chris Brown
- Ciara
- Craig David
- Destiny’s Child
- Faith Evans
- Ginuwine
- Ja Rule
- Janet Jackson
- Jennifer Lopez
- JoJo
- Justin Timberlake
- Kelly Rowland
- Lauryn Hill
- LL Cool J
- Ludacris
- Mariah Carey
- Mario
- Mary J. Blige
- Missy Elliott
- Monica
- Ne-Yo
- Nelly
- Rihanna
- Sean Paul
- Shaggy
- Sisqó
- The Fugees
- TLC
- Toni Braxton
- Trey Songz
- Tyrese
- Usher
It is fair to say that some of those names will stand out more than others in terms of artists who you will be more interested in hearing from than others, but there is also a reality of the fact that nearly all of them have produced some bangers over the years. This is an afternoon aimed squarely at enjoying music from a time gone by, when everyone in attendance gets to feel as though music was so much better back in the day. As well as the DJ playing hit after hit, you can also expect people lighting up the Popworld Guildford dance floor, reliving their youth or imagining what it would’ve been like to go out back then.