Billy Porter Brings His Passion And His Black Mona Lisa Tour to Seattle's Paramount

April 25, 2023 | Tony Vincente
Billy Porter Brings His Passion And His Black Mona Lisa Tour to Seattle's Paramount

This Saturday, GRAMMY®, EMMY®, and twice Tony® Award-winning singer, composer, director, author, actor, and playwright Billy Porter will grace stages in 25 U.S. cities, kicking off on April 29 in Seattle at Paramount Theatre.

Canvasing the nation, Billy brings passion and joy to cities across the nation with his first-ever career-spanning pop music concert tour: THE BLACK MONA LISA TOUR: VOLUME 1. Expect a full band, backed by a video installation, fronted by Billy telling his life story through song. This 90-minute powerhouse event will feature his chart-topping hits "Love Ison the Way" and "Love Yourself," a tinge of Broadway, a nod to Pose, and stunning performances of future pop classics from his forthcoming new album, Black Mona Lisa. This is an experience not to be missed.

Unite chatted with Billy a few weeks Back.

Tony Vincente: What do you think of the (Pacific) Northwest? Have you visited before?

Billy Porter: It's beautiful. I mean I haven't been there a lot. And the last time I was there was a really long time ago, but I remember it being beautiful. Waning and beautiful.

TV: Let's talk about that Black Mona Lisa tour, honey. So, yeah, we're excited to say the least. When I say 'we' we are talking about all of us black girls. All of the LGBTQ We are really excited. And, you know, besides ...

BP: Oh, I'm excited too.

TV: Thank you, besides hearing the music that we're looking forward to, and the stellar visuals that we know you're going to bring. What I find interesting about this tour is that you're sharing you in this venue. And by that I mean fans look into who you are through your stories and your songs. Could you give us a taste of what makes you tick, honey?

BP: You know, I am a first-generation post-civil rights movement baby. I was born in '69. I came out, as gay in 1985. And so, you know, we went straight to the frontlines to fight for our lives in the middle of the AIDS crisis. You know, so it created a passion in me for justice. It — the thing that infuriates me most in life is injustice. And I have made it my life's work to make sure that I am a part of making sure that justice is served to all human beings on this earth. You know, we all deserve to live freely and have our humanity respected. And so, for me, that's who I am. My art is that. My art is my activism. They are inextricably linked. And what I'm excited about with this, like you said, is I get to come and be Billy. I'm not Lola. I'm not Playtell. I'm not Believe. I'm not the Bad G. I am Billy. And Billy is very different from all of those other characters. He's very different. (Laugh). And so I'm excited to have been given the opportunity to have this chance. I'm excited to have lived long enough to see the day where my main stream pop music can happen again. You know, my first album came out in 1997. It was an R&B album on A&M Records. The business was very homophobic at the time and it didn't work out so well for me then. And now, because of the magic of my life, I get another chance. I get another shot. This way. My biggest dream as a kid was to be the male Whitney Houston.
So, you know, I got the part in Cinderella as the Fat G. Now I'm doing the music thing. Now I'm back doing the music thing on my own terms. And that is magical. I am so grateful. I say this all the time; I'm so grateful that I've lived long enough to see the day where the change that has already happened has taken route in my own personal life. You know, when I came out, I couldn't be the person that you see before you. You know, so I'm a representative that the
change has already happened.

We have to. And the concerts, for me, and my work in activism is about that. I'm coming through with a message. I've been called. This is my ministry. I'm coming right into the middle of it. It's a celebration of life, of love, of joy, of hope, of peace. And I'm giving
the world a big bear hug with that.

TV: I was going to say, Billy, you're priceless, just like the Black Mona Lisa you named your tour.

BP: Oh. (Laugh) But, you know, it's like I'm giving the world a big bear hug because we've all been inside of a collective trauma that we're still in the middle of. None of us are all right and that's all right, but we can heal together. It's about healing. I love that Tony Morrison quote, you know, this is precisely the time when artists go to work. You know that quote?

TV: I do. It's very important to me.

BP: You know, there's no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak. We write. We do language. This is how civilizations heal. My ancestors died
for me to be able to be here right now. I'm not scared of none of it.

TV: I know that's right.

BP: Tell the children to get them little asses there [on April 29th].

Go to STG Presents grab your tickets fir they are gone at https://stgpresents.org.

Tony Vincente (named 1 of the Top 20 Successful Entrepreneurs to Look Out for In 2023 by NYC Journal) is the CEO/Designer of luxury lifestyle brand Rossario George and host of the "Wine Room" fashion talk show on Fashion TV.