Anthony Hamilton and Leela James bring their fall soul tour to the Columbus Civic Center on Nov. 14

After stops in Greenville, Grand Rapids and Cleveland, two of R&B's steadiest voices head to Columbus on a Saturday night.

Some Saturday nights are made for dressing up, singing along to every word, and staying for the final encore. Anthony Hamilton and Leela James are bringing one of those nights to Columbus.

They play the Columbus Civic Center on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, with music starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $63.75–$362.25 through Ticketmaster. The Civic Center's event page has venue details.

The pairing has been working its way through arenas and theaters all fall. Earlier stops included Greenville, South Carolina, in early October and Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena on Oct. 16, where the arena's announcement also listed Raheem DeVaughn on the bill. The next night was Cleveland. By the time the tour reaches Columbus, it will have had more than a month on the road to find its shape.

Hamilton is the kind of singer people plan anniversaries around. His last full album, *Love Is the New Black*, came out in 2021, and he told NPR's Weekend Edition it was about being vulnerable. It was his first full-length album in five years. In 2024 he put out "Queen," a single produced by Jermaine Dupri, as SoulBounce reported. This year he's a guest on Shaggy's "I'm Good," from the album *Lottery*, according to his discography. The new material is a bonus, though. Most people buy tickets for the catalog, and for a voice that hasn't gone anywhere.

Leela James is no warm-up act; plenty of people in the building will have bought tickets for her.

Leela James is a co-bill, not a courtesy opener. Her own Live Nation page lists the fall dates alongside Hamilton's. With two strong singers on one ticket, the night should run long on ballads and heavy on call-and-response.

The Civic Center holds about 9,100 people, so this is a big night for the building. The floor seats and lower bowl give the best view of the stage, and the wide price range reflects that: there are cheaper seats up top and premium ones down front. If you're going as a group, buy together now rather than trying to piece seats together closer to the date.

It's a Saturday in mid-November, the start of the holiday stretch. Plan dinner ahead of time, leave room for parking, and be in your seat when the lights go down, because nobody wants to walk in during the first song.

You'll find full details on our show page. See you on the 14th, and bring someone you'd want to slow-dance with in the aisle.

Sources: Columbus Civic Center: Anthony Hamilton and Leela James (civiccenter.columbusga.gov); Ticketmaster: Anthony Hamilton & Leela James, Columbus GA (ticketmaster.evyy.net); Van Andel Arena press release (vanandelarena.com); NPR: Anthony Hamilton on Love Is the New Black (npr.org); SoulBounce: Anthony Hamilton teases new single Queen (soulbounce.com); Anthony Hamilton discography (Wikipedia) (en.wikipedia.org); Live Nation: Leela James events (livenation.com); JamBase: Anthony Hamilton at Columbus Civic Center (jambase.com)