Checking Into ‘The Sweat Hotel’: Keith Sweat Taking His Signature Soul On The Road

It’s a semiregular if specious question that recently sparked a navel-gazing debate and online think pieces: Is R&B dead? (Feel free to substitute rock ’n’ roll, hip-hop, punk, jazz, EDM and any other music format that is occasionally asked the same meritless question). Artists like Usher chimed in on the topic pushing back against the notion while Grammy Awards this year going to artists like SZA and Victoria Monét are evidence the genre is still very much alive.

Another indication that R&B isn’t dead can be seen in the touring grosses, and not just from modern superstars such as Beyoncé and Usher but also from veteran artists who have quietly found success on the road. One such act is Keith Sweat, an early figure in the new jack swing movement of the late 80s and 1990s, who has thrived in arenas and amphitheaters after venues reopened in 2021 and this year will be making R&B fans, well, sweat once again.

Sweat, 62, looks to continue championing R&B and soul with his “The Sweat Hotel Tour,” a 15-date trek promoted by Bobby Dee Presents that will have the singer visiting U.S. amphitheaters from August through October. The tour kicks off Aug. 23 at Bob Hope Theater in Stockton, California, and includes stops at Fresno, California’s Saroyan Theatre; Oklahoma City’s The Criterion; and Orpheum Theater in Boston before wrapping up at Baltimore’s Pier Six Pavilion on Oct. 6.

“This time around, I wanted to get a little closer and more personal with my fans,” Sweat tells Pollstar. “That’s what this tour’s about. I get to interact with my fans and continue to do what I’ve been doing for years.”

With a lengthy track record on the road, Sweat has captivated fans for decades with his deep soothing voice, as both a headliner and supporting act. He opened for New Edition last year, a run promoted by the Black Promoters Collective that was a hit in arenas across the country hitting No. 84 on Pollstar’s Year-End Top 200 Worldwide Tours last year with a $35.7 million haul, proving that audiences still want to hear soulful hits from the ’80s and ’90s.

On his own, Sweat has taken artists like Dru Hill, Ginuwine, 112 and Blackstreet with him on the road to keep the R&B celebration going, including a sold-out show at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, on May 12 that grossed $538,794 off 7,376 tickets, according to  Pollstar Boxoffice reports.

“I try to stay true to what made me Keith Sweat, and it seems to be working,” Sweat says. “Whenever new people come around, some are like, ‘Let me try to jump on that bandwagon because that’s the new trend.’ But I’ve been fortunate enough to not have to do that and stay in my lane and win in my lane.”

Sweat has stayed true to himself since his smooth debut Make It Last Forever dropped in 1987. His music quickly made its way onto radio stations and teenagers’ love and heartbreak mixtapes with songs like “Twisted,” “Nobody” and “Get Up On It,” all of which continue to resonate with Gen Xers and millennials as the artist found success wherever he went.

“The one thing that Keith’s always done is that he’s able to create stories within his songs,” says promoter Bobby Dee. “There’s just love, no obscenities or curse words — songs you could dedicate to your girl. His songs still are fun, and he’s always keeping it classy.”

The R&B singer’s distinguishable voice can also be heard on the radio in more than 50 markets through his “Sweat Hotel” show, produced and distributed by Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia. Sweat plays his favorite slow jams while giving listeners an open forum to discuss their relationships.

“In any business or anything you do, in order to have longevity, you have to reinvent yourself,” Sweat says. “I think I’ve done a great job in doing that. … [Radio] is just another form of entertainment. You hear what people really have to say personally and you hear the love.”

Feeling the love is what it’s all about for Sweat, whether it’s through his radio program, his new music, “Right & Wrong (Remix)” with Lizzen, or on stage. He just wants his fans to feel something from his work, and he feels that music today lacks a little oomph.

“When you hear rhythm and blues, soul music, you can feel it,” he says. “I’m not knocking on any music nowadays, but can you really feel it? A lot of times, it says something but doesn’t say anything. When I came out, people probably looked at my situation and were probably looking at ways to critique what I was doing.”

Nonetheless, Sweat says that R&B and soul music, whether it’s from the 1980s or 2020s and regardless of what it says, needs to be acknowledged more today because of its influence.

“Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and The Temptations, that to me really cultivated what music is all about, and it built from that stage,” Sweat says. “I just kept it alive a little more.”

When asked what R&B music he’s enjoying nowadays that resonates with him, Sweat didn’t hesitate to answer, “I like Keith Sweat. That’s my answer for real.”

It’s a good answer because, honestly, who can do it like him? Nobody.