Canada’s Queen of R&B Jully Black is headlining her first tour after 17 years with songs that reveal her dedication to her late mother and spiritual growth to inspire community resilience.
Black’s Songs and Stories Tour this winter offers a live concert mixed with storytelling inspired by her life experiences. Classics like “Sweat of Your Brow” and “Seven Day Fool,” and a whole selection of songs people haven’t heard yet, will be played.
Black says the curation was inspired by Jaimie Foxx’s jokes where he tells his life story and Lauryn Hill’s live music experiences.
“This tour is dedicated to my mom and it’s about telling my story in a way that’s triumphant, in a way that’s going to give people permission to be vulnerable, permission to dream again, and permission to not be aged out,” Black told Now Toronto.
After her last tour in 2008, Black’s mother passed away, her record company shelved The Black Book album, and her manager quit.
“I felt like I was being buried, but I was really being planted, and there’s a difference. I was being planted. It was a new seed. It was a new seed that needed to be planted and stay in the cold, dark Earth,” Black said.
The JUNO award-winning artist said she needed to grow alone, and being a woman of faith, she was able to see who was truly there for her and how she could envision what she desired to do with her music career in a way that felt purposeful to her.
“I have this tattoo on my arm. It’s a bridge. Permanent. I did this right after my mom passed away. It’s about being a connector. This is my purpose,” Black said.
SONGS AND STORIES TOUR 2025
Black’s tour kicks off in the GTA on Feb. 7 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts and then heads to the Rose Theatre in Brampton on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. The rest of the tour visits smaller arts venues in underserved communities across Canada.
Acting Executive Artistic Director of Brampton On Stage, Jocelyn Johnston, told Now Toronto they are thrilled to welcome the singer during a night which was supposed to be Black’s wedding day.
“Through a recent in-depth conversation, we’ve had the opportunity to highlight Jully’s journey, her artistry, and her connection to Brampton audiences in a way that goes beyond the stage. This concert reflects the heart of our commitment to bringing artists and audiences together in ways that foster deeper connections and lasting impact,” Johnston said.
Black says she aims to connect people from all walks of life through her music, and that this tour is an opportunity for the audience to truly unwind and have fun.
“I’m on a mission to bring all people together and bring Black and brown people together. Let’s go with power, we’re better together,” Black said.
“People don’t really have that opportunity to just escape for 90 minutes, to go to a show that’s affordable. It’s like 35 bucks, skip a pizza and come to the show,” she added.
Black is collaborating with an artist from every city she’s touring, while splitting her band with Edmonton’s Half Melafrique to reduce costs on a self-funded tour with the assistance of some venues.
Black was originally supposed to get married on her hometown show date on Feb. 14, but will instead take the stage with her opener Domanique Grant.
Grant met Black when she was just 14 years old after Kardinall Offishall’s mom, who worked in community, encouraged Black to listen to Grant’s music.
“It’s special being on stage with one of the Canadian women that’s helped me realize it’s possible to make it in and beyond Canada. I didn’t have many other women in the industry that were in a similar genre. Jully paved the way and created a blueprint,” Grant told Now Toronto.
Grant is now an award-winning singer and successful independent artist who’s created an entire business off her music, despite enduring her own initial failures of not getting accepted into Honey Jam’s artist development program two times in a row.
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“Everything you possibly can imagine and more is possible. You don’t need any confirmation or anyone to validate that. The fact that you can see it in your mind is the reassurance it’s possible, Grant said.
“It’s not only validation, but it’s a testament to how important it is for us to reach back and for women to support each other in our own lane to save years of time by opening up doors [while] letting each other know we care,” Grant continued.
‘POSITIVE MOTION EQUALS POSITIVE EMOTION’
Although the tour happens to fall during Black History Month and Women’s History Month, Black said it wasn’t planned that way because the production has been in the works for the last two years.
However, she believes it was divine timing given the purpose of her tour and what she’s been internally working through.
“I love myself at and in every evolution, both beneficial and non-beneficial, good, bad or indifferent. So, I tell my younger self, just keep loving yourself in every evolution,” Black said.
The singer said much of her self-acceptance and self-love was ingrained from her mother, who reassured her that she’s special and unique, especially being used to taking up space early on in her life as a 5’10” teenager with size 10 feet.
Anyone who’s peeked at Black’s Instagram knows the singer loves the power of athleticism, especially with her ongoing fitness initiatives, 100 Strong and Sexy and The Power of Step.
“Positive motion equals positive emotion,” Black said.
Black said she’s been able to sustain herself in the industry for almost 30 years because she puts intentional effort into cultivating her mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.
Along with preparing for the tour, Black has been in the studio with J-Vibe and Veer Dhaniram to produce her new upcoming album that blends hers and other cultures together.
“I got this voice for free. I think about it like I didn’t buy it. I got this thing for free, and my responsibility is just to take care of it and to share it,” Black said.
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