American rapper, singer and songwriter Nelly and his friends collectively took to the Melbourne stage at John Cain Arena as part of his 2025 Where The Party At Tour.
Accompanied with the likes of support act Chingy of ‘Right Thurr’ fame, and the cool beats of DJ Deja Blu to hype up the Melbourne crowd before the main event (he made me giggle when he said, “If you’re over 30, MAKE SOME NOISE! If you’re born in the 70s, MAKE SOME NOISE! If you’re born in the 80s, MAKE SOME NOISE!”). When it was time for Nelly to step up and meet his Melbourne audience, he cranked the energy up tenfold and then it REALLY felt like a thriving and nostalgic R&B/hip-hop party.
Coming up on stage with DJ Trife and the hip-hop group St. Lunatics that Nelly is also a member of and has been since ’93, despite Nelly’s colossal solo career, there’s just something so comforting and wholesome about Nelly still being a part of St. Lunatics and touring the world with his hip-hop brothers.
Nelly made an effort to frequently shout out his “Day Ones”, the fans who have been supporting his career since the very beginning, humbly bowing to his Melbourne audience in gratitude at the start and stating, “I wanna thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.” This warmth, respect and mutual love between Nelly and his fans was evident and consistent throughout the night, with Nelly and St. Lunatics happily interacting with the Melbourne crowd and looking sincerely happy to be performing for us.
Some lucky fans were seen placed on the second tier of stage, dancing to their hearts content. The rest of the patrons were either bouncing up and down on the floor or standing in their seat while grooving to all the songs that Nelly and St. Lunatics dished out. The setlist contained not only original tracks, including ‘Batter Up’ which was great for fans to see Nelly and St. Lunatics perform together, but there were covers too! Unexpectedly, Nelly and his crew even gave a clever nod to Australian music, blasting AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ and ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ for patrons to proudly sing along to.
All the hits were there including the guitar filled ‘Ride Wit Me’, ‘Dilemma’, Nelly’s solo debut ‘Country Grammar (Hot Shit)’, the catchy ‘E.I.’, ‘Grillz’, ‘Air Force Ones’, and the iconic ‘Hot In Herre’.
As much as Nelly enjoyed sharing the stage with his mates, even bringing out a birthday cake at one point to wish and sing to J-Kwon a “Happy birthday”, Nelly had just as much time on stage and fun alone. During ‘Dilemma’, equipped with just his microphone, a microphone stand, and his voice, he instructed the Melbourne crowd to help him by singing along to all of Kelly Rowland’s parts. Creating a special moment, DJ Trife even paused the music at one point so that the venue was only left with Nelly and the Melbourne audience’s voices.
However, the highlight of the concert was also its finale. Returning to the stage for an encore, Nelly and friends concluded the evening with arguably Nelly’s best song – ‘Just A Dream’. Remember those fans that were up on the second tier of the stage? They came down to join Nelly and friends for the last song. When the lyrics “If you ever loved somebody put your hands up” were sung, all Melbourne patrons instinctively raised their hands into the air, proceeding to wave them up and down for the remaining moments of the night.
Thanks to the talents of Nelly and his music family, all who energetically entertained Melbourne audiences throughout the night. During the final number, the John Cain Arena venue instantaneous filled up with nothing but an appreciation and love for Nelly’s music legacy, and pure joy.
Proudly presented by Live Nation Australia, Nelly’s Australian leg of his 2025 Where The Party At Tour played in Melbourne on Thursday the 27th of March at John Cain Arena and will conclude in Perth at Perth HPC tonight on Saturday March 29. The tour then continues internationally throughout the year in North America and Europe.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.livenation.com.au/nelly-tickets-adp773759
https://www.nelly.net
https://www.instagram.com/nelly
Photography by Grant Alexander.
