Cincinnati Music Festival continues Friday with Jill Scott and Al Green masterclasses

If Thursday night was a lyrical frenzy, then Friday, the second night of the Cincinnati Music Festival at Paycor Stadium, was a display of vocal talent like Cincinnati has seldom seen before.

Gerald Albright started the night off just right with smooth, saxophone-fronted jazz. Then, dressed like they were ready for the Barbie premiere, Midnight Star picked up the baton, oscillating between classic R&B tunes and their signature, experimental voice-box technofunk to get the crowd grooving.

But then the marathon of vocal talent really got started. Jodeci laid down soulful harmonies that had the whole audience joining in. Jill Scott took that vocal prowess to a whole 'nother level, showing off a range unmatched in the music industry, and teaching some lessons along the way. And for the finale, Al Green did everything but disappoint. The legendary soul pioneer more than earned his headliner status and he did so with a little bit of flair.

Here's a look at the highlights from Friday night:

Jill Scott's adapted national anthem

Jill Scott has been in the headlines again. On July 4th, Scott performed her own adapted version of the "Star Spangled Banner," highlighting the country's history of racism. She performed her rendition again, last night at Paycor Stadium.

"This is not the land of the free / But the home of the slaves," Scott sang to close out the song, which was met with wild applause throughout. "If you don't call out what the disease is," she explained after letting out the last note, "How're you gonna cure it?" Scott wrote her adapted lyrics in 1991, when she was just 19 years old. The audience clung to every word.

Anthem or no, Scott put on a hell of a show. Scott belted high swinging melodies and ran through jazzy vibrato tenor lines with equal ease. She makes you understand what music people mean when they say that your voice is an instrument.

Al Green's still got it after all

Last night, Cincinnati learned two important lessons about Al Green: 1) Al Green still has one of the pearliest voices in the history of music, and 2) that man is a character.

Before Reverend Green spoke a word to the audience, he sauntered over to a table at the front of the stage, picked up a handful of red roses, and began handing the roses to audience members in the front row. It was very sweet. But these rose-offerings continued throughout the show. In the middle of some of his most popular songs, Green would stop singing, head over to the rose table, and start handing a new batch.

But Green's quirkiness in no way got in the way of what truly was a masterful performance last night. Green has a tendency to sing the first half of a famous line, then stop abruptly and let out a sharp, high-soaring, harmonic tone that slowly fades into a bass note. The timing of these outbursts is rattling, and combined with the passion and poise in which he delivers them, they produce a generously emotive experience for the listener. This effect increases tenfold in person.

It was not a performance to forget.

Jodeci aren't so 'bad' after all

Lauded as the "Bad Boys of R&B," Jodeci's performance at Paycor Stadium last night was anything but bad. Sure, some Jodeci lyrics land on the lewd side of the spectrum but they delivered those lines with such spot-on harmonies and somehow coated that bad with what can only be described as beauty.

With nearly the whole stadium singing along to many of their anthems, rising out of their chairs, and dancing with arms raised, Jodeci's performance was really a sight to behold.

"Y'all want some more of that?" Dalvin Degrate asked the crowd after an especially rousing song. The answer was yes.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jill Scott's, Jodeci and Al Green at Cincinnati Music Festival