5 things we won't forget about Cincinnati Music Festival's Saturday lineup

Before Coachella, Lollapalooza or Glastonbury was created, there was the Cincinnati Music Festival.

Founded in 1962 as the Ohio Valley Jazz Festival, Cincinnati's celebration of jazz, hip-hop and R&B has drawn both top-notch talent and droves of tourists to the Queen City for over 60 years.

With over 90,000 attendees from Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Louisville and beyond, the festival is Cincinnati's largest tourism event year after year.

More: Cincinnati Music Festival sets the tone at Paycor Stadium: 5 standout moments from Friday

On Saturday, fans dressed in all-white packed Paycor Stadium to celebrate the final night of this year's festival. From every edition of New Edition to rising star Coco Jones, the legendary R&B lineup at this historic festival kept fans dancing far past midnight.

If you missed the final show, or if you're trying to relive every second of that amazing night, look no further.

Here's five stand-out moments from the festival that I can't stop thinking about.

Stokley excites the crowd with Mint Condition throwback

As fans found their way to their seats, Stokley opened the show with a burst of energy. From smooth dance moves to impressive vocal riffs, Stokley and his backup dancers' stage presence was captivating. The 57-year-old artist and former lead singer of Mint Condition offered audiences a perfect blend of his recent solo projects and classic fan favorites.

"Vibrant," Stokley's 2021 collab with last year's headliner, Snoop Dogg, got fans right up off their feet. What excited audiences most was hearing Stokley sing Mint Condition's 1991 hit "Breakin' My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)." With Mint Condition's most recent Cincinnati Music Festival performance coming in 2014, audiences were excited to once again sing along to the R&B classic, which spent 34 weeks on the Hot R&B Singles Chart in 1992.

En Vogue has audiences free their minds

This year marks 35 years of En Vogue, a chart-topping R&B female group whose 90s hits shaped the genre. Originally formed as a quartet with Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones and Terry Ellis, membership has shifted over the years. Today, Ellis, Herron and Rhonda Bennett perform as a trio, stunning audiences with their seamless harmonies and vocal runs.

Having listened to En Vogue my entire hour drive to the festival, I was beyond excited when they stepped out on stage in their matching metallic dresses. From "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get it)" to "Don't Let Go (Love)," I was singing along for every note I could hit.

"This one's for all the good fellas," Ellis joked as she led into "Whatta Man," En Vogue's 1999 collaboration with hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa.

"Prejudice, wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it go!," the introductory hook to "Free Your Mind," got immediate cheers, and the stage visuals turned into a work of protest art. The anthemic 1992 hit pushes back against forms of prejudice, criticizing those who pushed sexist and racist stereotypes onto the performers.

As Terry Ellis belted out, phrases like "Stop the hate" appeared on screens, prompting reflection as to how many of the issues En Vogue discussed in the anthem still afflict Black women today. The song's powerful message and even more powerful vocals showed exactly why En Vogue are R&B legends.

Newcomer Coco Jones teases her next album

As a Generation Z kid, I was especially excited to see the Cincinnati Music Festival spotlight up-and-coming talent in the R&B space. Coco Jones hasn't even released her first album, but the strong reception to the former Disney Channel star's stunning R&B EP "What I Didn't Tell You" has made Jones among the most popular new R&B voices.

"I'm still relatively new, even though I've been doing this since I was a little kid. So, one of my first goals as an R&B girl was just to be considered one of the R&B girls," Jones said.

Despite some initial audio issues, Jones' performance stunned. From dancing on the floor to "Show Your Body" to hyping audiences up with call-and-response during "Crazy on Me," Jones showed exactly why she deserved to be considered one of the R&B girls.

Jones surprised audiences by covering "Rain on Me" by SWV, who was originally supposed to be in Saturday's lineup but had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict. She also teased us by hinting at her album and tour coming this fall. After Saturday's performance, I am ready to buy my ticket.

KEM creates space for praise

Having previously performed at the Cincinnati Music Festival in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2017, KEM, the beloved R&B singer from Nashville, got even the old-timers off their feet. From trombone solos to electric guitar solos, KEM's backing instrumentals were the best of the entire lineup. What KEM did best was make every audience member feel connected and remind us why we felt so excited to share this night together.

"God is good," KEM called out. "And all the time."

As audiences cheered out, KEM said, "That can't be all the praise we got this evening. There's too much going on in the world to be all the praise we got in here this evening. I need the praise from the folks who made it on the other side of the pandemic, I need that praise from the folks that didn't think they'd make it here tonight."

Any time I have gone to a concert or sporting event since the pandemic, it has not yet been lost on me that sharing moments with a crowd is incredibly special. Seeing the entire arena cheer in praise was just an extraordinary feel-good moment, and it set the tone for the rest of KEM's set.

My favorite part of the four-time Grammy nominee's performance was when KEM sang his 2005 hit, "Find Your Way." When audiences already knew to do the call-and-response with KEM, he joked, "Oh, we in the right place."

New Edition shows every edition of their decades-long careers

"When they called and said come to Cincinnati Music Festival, we said hell yeah!" said Michael Bivins, founding member of New Edition.

When the headliners rolled in backstage on their golf carts, the stadium erupted in cheers. It was already past 11 p.m., but hardly anyone was leaving early; people traveled hundreds of miles for Saturday's headliner.

New Edition, consisting of Ronnie DeVoe, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant, Johnny Gill and Bobby Brown, showed audiences every edition of their R&B careers. After a fan-favorite group number, "Mr. Telephone Man," each member gave audiences a taste of their solo work.

When New Edition went off stage for a quick costume change past midnight, their DJ blew the imaginary roof off Paycor Stadium by playing Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us." New Edition members returned to stage as Bell Biv DeVoe, offering one of the most memorable performances of the night with their 1990 hit "Poison."

Although I danced so hard during the Bell Biv DeVoe set that I lost my sunglasses, what I gained was a newfound appreciation for the rap and R&B legends that came before my time. As fans filed out of their seats at the end of the night, the joy felt contagious, as people were dancing, singing and chatting with strangers about their favorite parts of the show.

This joy and community is what brings people back year after year to our city.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 things we won't forget about Cincinnati Music Festival's Saturday lineup