Local Love: Going to See Ari Lennox at Coca-Cola Roxy

Have you ever experienced concert withdrawal? That feeling you get when you’ve just seen a concert and you really want to go to another one? I’ve experience it for almost every concert I’ve been to and seeing Ari Lennox at Coca-Cola Roxy was no different.

Discovering Ari

The first time I heard Ari Lennox, a fellow Courtney, was in a mashup I came across on Youtube. The base of it was her song “BMO” and included verses from Lauren Jauregui (from Fifth Harmony), Nicki Minaj, and Summer Walker. I absolutely loved her voice and the beat so I listened to “BMO” by itself which lead me to listening to the whole Shea Butter Baby album. That album was on a repeat to and from work for a few weeks. I found a new favorite artist.

I started following her on her different socials and she was so sweet! I’d just missed the tour she had by the time I found out about her music but I knew I had to see her live one day. Three years and a pandemic later, I finally got that chance.

I recently saw Ari Lennox this past Sunday during her A/S/L tour. It was my first concert of the year. The show was was held at Cocoa-Cola Roxy, a music venue within The Battery. The Battery is also where Truist Park is, the baseball stadium where Atlanta Braves play (2021 World Series Champs!).

I’d been wanting to go to a concert here ever since I missed the Kali Uchis and Jorja Smith show about five years ago. This venue is more ideal for me because it’s:

• Not downtown ( I hate driving downtown),
• Near my job so I know how to get there, and
• Near plenty of food and other entertainment options.

The Battery is a good place to shop and get food with friends and family so it’s an ideal multi-faceted location.

Parking at The Battery

I drove up to The Battery 3.5 hours before the concert to get some food ahead of time (and to wait in line). I pre-paid for parking at the Delta Parking deck when I bought my concert ticket. It was $16+ which was the cheapest parking option. The Orange Deck valet parking was $45 and if you purchased parking at the Delta Parking deck the day of you would’ve paid $20.

The Delta Parking was about 2-5 minute walk from the venue but it’s still within Battery. If you were going to a baseball game, Delta Parking would be perfect. It’s right next to one of the stadium entrances but for anything else it’s a bit further out than the other parking decks.

Looking back, I think I should’ve paid for the valet parking. Mostly, because I was going by myself and the shoes I was wearing weren’t the most comfortable. One of the few things I learned from this experience.

I was initially worried they wouldn’t let me park so early but the parking attendant said I was good to go. I found a spot on the first level so I could peel straight out when it was time to go.

To Eat or Not to Eat?

I looked at the restaurants in The Battery ahead of time to determine what I wanted. I came across PH’EAST. PH’EAST is a small food hall with different restaurants that offer Asian cuisine. At first, I planned to get ramen from Lifting Ramen Noodles but as I walked past the venue, a small line was already forming. I knew I’d have to get something I could eat quickly (and while standing up).

I ended up getting two spicy tuna sushi donuts ($8.99 apiece) from Poke Burri. I ordered two because I thought they were going to be on the smaller side. However, I soon realized I ordered one too many when they put my order together. They were bigger than my hand!

After using the restroom, I walked back to the venue to get in the regular line. It’d grown slightly. Munching on one on of the donuts, I was full immediately. I fought back a groan. I didn’t want to waste food (or money). Part of me considered offering the other one to someone else in line. But, who’s going to take sushi from a stranger?

Security personnel walked outside asking if anyone had gifts for Ari. They were offering to take them back to her because we wouldn’t be able to give them on stage. I thought that was so cute and sweet that the venue allowed that. He saw my tp-go bag that held the sushi donut and asked if it was food or a gift.

“If she wants the food you can take it,” I joked, half hoping he would take it. I’d be gifting a pre-concert meal, right? But again I say, who’s going to take sushi from a stranger?

And the Wait Begins…

Waiting in line was a time. I talked to family on the phone to pass the time or played games. While waiting, another person from security was stamping the left hand of attendees who were planning to drink (and were over 21, of course). I didn’t planning on getting any alcohol but got stamped anyway in case I changed my mind. There was also personnel making announcements throughout the line saying that smoking weed was prohibited inside and that they’d take it away if caught (more on that later). They did say there was a smoking area on the left side of the stage.

Eventually, I sat down on the border next to the line which left a slightly larger space from the people in front me. I think this is what led to the line cutting attempts. 

Cutters Be Cuttin’

About an hour had passed at this point and the line had grown 5 times longer.  Some girls cut the line acting like they knew one of the girls in front of me when they clearly didn’t. I overheard her ask where the fast lane was; there were three different lines – fast lane, early access, and regular. Then she said, to her friends “Okay ya’ll, I found her!” trying to be slick. At some point, the line cutters figured out which line was the fast lane and moved to it.

As the waiting went on, more people tried to cut. A girl was even offering money to a man if he let them cut. He and I assume his girlfriend were waiting behind me and another guy but his partner was sitting down along with us. I assumed she told him to stand there to prevent more cutting attempts.

When the girl went up and started talking to him initially, I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at his partner. She called him over when the girl walked away to ask what she was saying which is how I found out the girl offered money.

In the last few minutes of waiting, yet another group of girls tried to cut and the guy explained that this wasn’t the end of the line and they needed to go to the back.

One of the girls responded, “Do you work here or something?” to which he said, “No, but we’ve all been waiting for a long time.” This was of course after me and the girlfriends side-eye each other and she said, “Oh, she bold.”

At that point myself, the girlfriend, and the guy behind me all stood up from our spots to confirm to them where our place in line was. The couple went behind me and the other guy and the girls in front of me confirmed I’d been behind them since the beginning. Basically, we all pushed that group of girls back.

A few minutes after that, the regular line finally started allowing people in. The venue didn’t allow outside food or drink so I had to through my extra sushi donut away. I didn’t have to stop to have my bag searched because I didn’t bring a bag but they do have specific bag requirements.

Time for the Concert!

Walking in, I didn’t even try to find the merch table or where the bar was. The fast lane line kept growing and they let so many people in so I wanted to make sure I could get a good spot. This was probably my biggest mistake.

I stood right in the center, the “Ari Lennox” neon sign glowing over us. As people filed in, R&B and rap music played overhead. The crowd started singing along to certain songs until the house lights dimmed and the neon sign turned off. Cheers erupted as the show was about to start.

A young woman in green stepped on and started singing with so much energy. She was letting you know she could sing, okay? The runs were everything! This was not Ari but one of her openers, Jai’Len Josey. I think “Can You Do it For Me?” was a favorite for me. “Good Soup” also stuck out to me (enough for me to write it down during the show). She herself was from east and Atlanta, so having a local giving such a great before made the crowd cheer her on with pride.

Her set was probably 20 minutes or so and it was great.  Once she stepped off stage, the house music started back up again, the “A” and “L” from the “Ari Lennox” sign illuminating again. Another 15 to 20 passed and I could tell people were starting to get antsy, myself included. It was already 9pm at this point.

I watched as the crew set up a keyboard and they passed back small water bottles in the crowd. I started waving my arm for them to keep sending it back because I was starting to feel a little warm. The person in front of me noticed and started waving too. We weren’t able to get a water but it looked like the show was about to start up again.

A young man sat down at the keyboard and another young woman, Alex Vaughn, walked out singing Ashanti’s “Foolish” which lead into her own song, “Keep That Energy (One More Chance)”.  She had a chill vibe and her voice was so smooth. I was vibing but remember when I said, the crowd was getting antsy? Well, you could hear distinct chatter during her set and I was so annoyed people were talking. I get they were ready to see Ari, but at least be respectfully of all the performers she chose to accompany her on her tour! Alex held it down and ended with her song “So Be It” after gracing us with her piano-playing skills and exited the stage.

It’s Getting Hot in Here

We waited another 10-15 minutes. At this point I started noticing people smoking.

I myself do not smoke – cigarettes, weed, cigars, or otherwise – so the plume of it as it surrounded me was a little much. At first it was just someone off to the side. Then the woman right in front of me started smoking.  I really needed the water then. The venue passed out another round of water bottles from the front and asked people to pass them back but none ever made it to me. Only to the woman who waved the water over with me before.

I started feeling extremely hot and dizzy, crouching down on the ground to try and make it stop. I was also very tempted to take off my shoes (they were definitely not meant for standing for a long period of time). The people around me noticed and asked if I was okay.

“I feel like I’m going to faint,” I said, “I need water.” I even asked the woman who had gotten one of the small bottles if she had any left. She told me I could go to the bar but I didn’t want to lose my spot.  I said as much and the people beside me said they’d hold it and even wanted me to grab something to drink for them and bring it back. I didn’t have Cash App or Apple Pay (which I could tell from their faces they thought was ridiculous) so I said, I couldn’t.

I started pushing my way through the crowd towards the bar, practically panicking that I would pass out before seeing Ari. When I finally made it out of the crowd, guess what I heard. The interlude to Ari Lennox’s newest album, Age/Sex/Location, started playing overhead.

Ari’s Here!

“Shit!” I shouted as I leaned over the bar. No one was going to let me back through to my spot now. Pouting hella hard, I asked the bar tender if I could have water. She directed me to go down toward the middle of the bar where they had water coolers and cups. At least it was free.

Practically enraged, I stomped over to the cooler and chugged water down trying to at least get a look at Ari. She started out performing one of my favorite songs from her new album, “POF”, and I couldn’t even see her.

I chugged another cup of water to make sure I was hydrated but I still needed air. Ari started talking to the crowd so I took that time to go out to the left side of the stage where they said the smoking area was. I asked security if there was another place outside that didn’t have smoke but they said that was my only option.

Luckily, there weren’t that many people out there. I complain about my situation in a quick call to my mom as I caught my breath but quickly hug up to go back inside when Ari started singing again.

I found a spot at the left side of the stage where I could see her some of the time. There was a pillar in the way, holding up the second floor which had seats. As long as she walked over from time to time I was fine.

During “Boy Bye” she had one of her singers, Dexter, sing Lucky Daye’s parts. I had gotten a sneak peak of him singing it on TikTok so I knew he was going to be great.

A few seconds after “Stop By” started, Ari paused the song and said, “Kill the fucking smoke.” I knew she was talking about the smoke machine but I was with her on cutting the smoke. Just as another puff of it went up in the air a few people ahead me. The venue clearly doesn’t take action if they catch people with weed even though they have signs saying they will. Anyway, back to the music.

She sang all my favorites from her discography (which is more than half of it).  For other songs that she either was featured in or she had features with, she’d have another one of her singers take on the other part. For “Unloyal”, Blanche J sung Summer Walker’s part and was so good. “Leak It” was sung with Kristen who you could tell was having fun with CHLÖE’s part. The crowd was going crazy cheering.

The concert was such a good time. We all were singing with Ari word for word on nearly every song and she encouraged it. It felt like doing a group karaoke with her. I heard every song I wanted to except “Night Drive”, “Backwood”, and surprisingly one other song.

As the night was coming to an end, she sang “Shea Butter Baby” and exited the stage leaving the band and the backup singers as the lights dimmed.

Encore! Encore!

Most of the people assumed the concert was over so they started to make their way towards the exit. Me? I started making my way towards the center. There was no way it was over yet. There was at least one song, one big song, she hadn’t performed yet.

Before long the band, who were all women by the way (love!), started chanting, “Ari! Ari! Ari!” This of course made everyone rush back to the center and start chanting as well. I was at least able to get in a better spot (not as good as my original spot though). We continued to chant and the lights came back up but I did not expect the person who came out.

None other than Jermaine Dupri busted out on stage rapping “Welcome to Atlanta”. And the whole room erupted with shouts and cheering as we sang along to our anthem. When he finished rapping his verse and did the chorus one more time, he talked to us for a second.

“Now, ya’ll know there was one song Ari hadn’t performed yet,” he said. And that’s when it clicked for everyone. I had been waiting for “Pressure” specifically because my step-mom requested that I record it. Jermaine Dupri produced the song so it made sense she’d have him introduce it in his city.

We all danced and sang along to final song of the night ending on a high note.

Once the concert was officially over, I made my way to the merch table since I forgot to stop by before the concert. It was a pretty long wait and I was so nervous they would be sold out of the shirt I wanted by the time I made it to the front. Watching them take shirts off the wall and people exit the line empty handed or not even getting to the front before they left, increased my nerves.

Luckily, I was able to get the shirt I wanted in my size. The Coca-Cola Roxy was a cashless venue so I had my card ready.

I made the walk back to my car (which felt even longer because my feet were killing me) and the crowd was completely gone which told me I need to get to the car fast. Me walking by myself at night is a little unsettling but I ended the night want to go to another one of her concerts.

The concert withdrawal set in immediately but the lessons I learned were:

1. Stay hydrated (the most important).
2. Wear comfortable shoes.
3. Buy a seated concert ticket.
4. Park closer to the venue (especially if going by myself).

That was my night seeing Ari Lennox at Coca-Cola Roxy. What concert do you plan on going this year? What has been your favorite concert of all time? Let me know in the comments!