Less than two years after selling out the Bell Centre twice, Burna Boy made his return to Montreal on Monday, December 15.
It wasn’t until 10:15 p.m. that the Nigerian superstar finally stepped on stage, greeted by a crowd whose excitement had begun to fray. Still, patience proved rewarding. Over the next 90 minutes, Burna Boy delivered a high-energy, tightly executed performance, fully inhabiting the circular central stage and maintaining a rare physical closeness with the audience, a welcome antidote to the biting Montreal winter. Moving fluidly between English, Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin, and the occasional touch of French, Burna Boy, backed by his band and dancers, turned the Bell Centre into a temporary crossroads of cultures. The room notably erupted with the surprise appearance of Franco-Haitian singer Joe Dwet Filé, fresh off his own Bell Centre performance just two nights earlier.
Yet no amount of crowd noise could entirely distract from the elephant in the room: the Bell Centre was far from sold out. In a city that has historically embraced Burna Boy with open arms, the turnout raised questions. Was this subdued attendance the result of a Monday night in December, rising ticket prices, inflation fatigue? Or perhaps the lingering impact of recently viral videos showing the artist ejecting a couple from one of his shows after a woman in the front row appeared to be asleep?
If the reasons remain unclear, the consequences were surprisingly positive for those who did show up. Numerous fans found themselves upgraded to better seats, some ending up just feet away from the stage. Unshaken by the half-empty arena, Odugwu performed as if every seat were filled, delivering a committed, generous set that left little room for disappointment. Sparse crowd or not, Burna Boy made it clear: Montreal still mattered, and the show, undeniably, was a success.
Review & Photos – Lena Trottein
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