Mathew Knowles is back in the music biz.
The founder of Destiny’s Child — and father to Beyoncé and Solange — is honoring his eldest daughter’s band with an orchestra-inspired tribute show that’s touring the nation.
It’s starts Friday, his birthday.
The businessman and educator, who also teaches at Texas’ Prairie View A&M University, told us it feels good being, “back in the thrust and fire of the music industry.”
“Destiny’s Child: Iconic Reimagined Tribute” is a 60-minute show that will feature a quintet of musicians playing reimagined versions of some of the group’s biggest hits, including “Say My Name,” “Independent Women” and “Survivor.”
The pop patriarch will also hit the stage and share his own stories about cultivating the act, and their rise to global stardom.
He promises it will be a “sophisticated” night.
“The moment you walk into the room and you see the ambiance and 3,000-plus candles surrounding a stage, and these amazing quintet musicians, and violinists, it starts there,” he said.
Destiny’s Child’s launched in 1990, and has had several iterations. Knowles told us at one point there were 11 members in the group, including a male rapper. They would eventually become a trio, with lasting members Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams and Beyoncé. The group released their last album in 2004, and have since focused on their solo careers.
Knowles told us one of the things that made the act a global success was, “practicing failure.” Unbeknownst to the group, management would intentionally set the girls up for glitches as they rehearsed stage shows.
“They didn’t know when the lights were going to go off, when the sound would go off, or a heel might break. All the things that could happen. We practiced that,” he said. “It was all planned by management,” he added.
The intention was to set the girls up to be prepared for the unknown at all times. “They didn’t know once they got on the stage, that the sound was going to get muted at a certain point. We did that, so they wouldn’t panic,” he said.
He said the singers would have a song ready to go acapella, just in case. The sneaky tactic even came in handy on slippery stages. For example, during Michelle Williams viral slip on BET’s “106th and Park,” “They were prepared and they almost made a routine out of it.”
He added, ” You can also see that happen with Beyoncé and Solange during a Beyoncé performance, when Solange slipped, and then they made a routine of it. Those things you practice when you’re the very best.”
Knowles’ tribute show kicks off on Jan. 9 in Houston, Tex., with planned dates in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., and Miami.
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