No one in the know needs to be informed of this, but few musical experiences rival that of a Frankie Beverly concert. No one ever sits down. People dance for hours, so it’s sad, for many reasons, to be forced to acknowledge that he’s set to call it a career. Maybe that’s why Philadelphia Eagles star QB Jalen Hurts decided the wise decision was to show up at his final stop in the City of Brotherly Love.

Maze’s career speaks for itself. More than 50 years in the game… Nine gold albums if we’re not mistaken… That includes a 1981 classic Live in New Orleans and the 1996 Anthology album released almost 30 years ago.

Maze doesn’t need any help to move the meter, but seeing Jalen and his girlfriend Bry Burrows in attendance was a nice bonus. It’s the Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook age. With that being said, as you might imagine, people noticed, and they caught a couple of flicks and clips.

Not even a Jalen Hurts appearance can lessen the blow of knowing we have reached the end of an era.

It still hurts to state this. Maze and Frankie Beverly’s live music era has ended. It’s only fitting that his final two shows were at the 2024 Essence Festival in New Orleans and his hometown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Donnie Simpson, a Radio Hall-of-Famer and the former host of Video Soul was in attendance to show support as the two have been friends for decades.

Though this is a time of celebration, if we’re being honest, it’s hard to throw a party here. It still hasn’t hit us yet that this is it, nut hey, all good things must come to an end, right?

Kudos to QB1 and The Whispers. The latter served as the opening act. Maze and Frankie Beverly leave a huge hole to fill in their absence, one we may never see filled appropriately.