Music fans are back at one of New Jersey’s favorite concert venues — Rahway, NJ’s Union County Performing Arts Center — this Saturday, October 17, 2026 evening for an R&B concert by singer/songwriter Brian McKnight.
Born in Buffalo, NY, Brian McKnight was raised in Orlando, FL, but at the age of 19 moved to Los Angeles to pursue a music career. His debut album, Brian McKnight, was released by Mercury Records in 1992, and in 1993 he recorded the duet “Love Is” with Vanessa Williams for the Beverly Hills, 90210 soundtrack. Going on to sign with Motown Records, he produced four consecutive Billboard Top Ten albums: Back at One, Superhero, U Turn, and Gemini. Altogether, McKnight has been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards.
Inside the historic UCPAC auditorium, the lights dim and a montage of clips from Brian McKnight’s career is shown on the large screen at the rear of the stage. Musicians on guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums take their places behind their instruments and the crowd cheers as Brian McKnight descends from a center stage platform wearing a top hat and carrying a guitar.
Opening with “Superhero,” McKnight cries, “I’m your superhero/For you I will fight/I’ll save your life,” before rendering a screaming guitar solo on this pulsating R&B tune.
After McKnight takes off his hat and guitar, his resonant vocal is front and center on the rhythmic R&B tune “Stay or Let It Go,” and the crowd happily sings, “Do I ever cross your mind anytime?” on the slow groove of his hip-hop soul tune “Anytime.”
Concertgoers move to the contemporary R&B vibe of “Only One for Me” where McKnight swings his hips and snaps as he croons, “I can be the man you need me to be/I’ve been around/But now I’ve found/That you’re the only one for me.”
Following the rhythmic R&B/soul ballad “Forever,” McKnight greets his fans announcing, “New Jersey, it is an honor and a pleasure and a privilege for me to be here!” Strapping on his guitar, McKnight takes the audience back to 1995 where he vocalizes with soul, “And when violets turn red/And roses turn blue/I’ll be still in love with you,” on the slow funk tune “Still in Love.”
Segueing into “Every Time You Go,” McKnight delivers a winding and wild guitar solo on this R&B song which elicits hoots and hollers from the crowd.
Taking off his guitar, McKnight has the men in the audience sing, “Come on, baby,” in their falsetto voices and the ladies answer, “Don’t stop now,” on the upbeat R&B tune “Find Myself in You.”
Stars twinkle on the screen behind McKnight as he rockets into “10 Million Stars,” serenading the audience with soul on this dramatic R&B power ballad.
Talking about his past, McKnight reveals that although his #1 dream was to be a basketball player and his #2 dream to become a gynecologist, his #3 dream was to write songs and play music. Here, he gives credit to his wife of 15 years for teaching him to believe in love as he wrote about it for years in his songs before scenes from his wedding appear on screen and his falsetto rings out on his touching R&B ballad “Everything.”
Wiping tears from his eyes at the end of the song, McKnight acknowledges that “Life is good,” telling the crowd about being blessed with a son who is now three years old. Photos of family life fill the screen as McKnight sings, “You are the key, the reason why I sing/My namesake/My joy, my baby boy, my legacy,” on the slow R&B ballad “My Legacy.”
The audience cheers and McKnight acknowledges that although life has been good to him, “I have one sad song and it goes like this.” Here, he sings, “It’s been six months, eight days, twelve hours/Since you went away,” on his adult contemporary/R&B tune “6, 8, 12.”
Concertgoers move to the groove at their seats on “Fall 5.0,” a dynamic and rhythmic jazz-influenced soul ballad, after which McKnight straps on an acoustic guitar and chants, “She gives me love, love, love, love, crazy love,” on a soulful interpretation of Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love.”
Explaining that he would like to perform acoustic versions of several songs he doesn’t usually play, McKnight provides a vocal/guitar medley of tunes including his R&B/soul number “Cloud,” the soul ballad “When I’m Gone,” and his smooth jazz tune “Never Felt this Way,” before the full band joins him on the rhythmic “My Kind of Girl.”
After McKnight cries, “I still think about you/I still dream about you,” on the pop power ballad “Still,” the crowd cheers when they recognize the intro to McKnight’s biggest hit, “Back at One,” and they join Brian in singing, “One, you’re like a dream come true/Two, just wanna be with you,” on the chorus of this 1999 R&B smash.
Music lovers cheer and McKnight explains that although “Back at One” is his biggest hit, “the greatest song I ever wrote” is his R&B/soul number “Nobody” where he sings, “I’ll be nobody’s man but yours,” while photos of his wife dance across the screen.
To conclude tonight’s performance, McKnight conducts the audience as they sing, “One last cry/One last cry/Before I leave it all behind,” on the pop/soul ballad “One Last Cry.” After perfectly vocalizing the soulful runs in the song, McKnight holds out a high note to cheers and squeals from the crowd and responds, “Thank you, New Jersey!” while taking a bow as concertgoers stand and cheer.
For an encore, McKnight is accompanied by solo piano as he cries, “See I gotta find my way back home,” on the spiritual-themed ballad “Home.” After the full band joins in, people stand and listen before screaming and applauding as McKnight says “Goodnight!” and ascends the stairs to the platform prior to exiting as the band plays him off.
To learn more about Brian McKnight please go to thebrianmcknight.com. For info on upcoming events at UCPAC — including Spyro Gyra on November 7 and a free performance by The Jazz Ambassadors of the US Army Field Band on November 11 — please click on ucpac.org.
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