CONCERT REVIEW: Nelly’s 25th anniversary tour, “Where the Party At,” brought nostalgia to Ruoff 

The “Where the Party At Tour,” featuring Nelly, Ja Rule and Eve alongside special guests Chingy and St. Lunatics, included a nostalgic but lively stop at Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville on Aug. 14.  

The four-and-a-half-hour concert is part of an ongoing world tour that kicked off in March of this year, celebrating the 25th anniversary of headlining rapper Nelly’s debut album, “Country Grammar.” The setlist — and guestlist — paid tribute to more than two decades’ worth of way-paving, influential hip hop.  

The gratitude for 25 years of support was palpable throughout each set, with Chingy, EVE, Ja Rule and Nelly thanking audience members and long-time supporters with a musical journey through time — bringing back chart toppers to deep cuts, fan favorites and event returning to hits from the artists’ first albums. 

“I’m feeling the energy, and I need y’all to know something. I love each and every one of y’all the same,” Nelly said during his set later in the night. “What that means is, no matter why it is you started f*****g with Nelly, no matter when it was you pressed play on Nelly, no matter where you were when you decided you was going to bump Nelly, no matter how the hell it came to be that you started supporting Nelly, no matter who it was that might have turned you on to Nelly, I want to thank all the Indiana surrounding areas one more time for the bottom of our heart.” 

Chingy kicked off the evening with a 35-minute set of his greatest hits beginning at 7:30 p.m. on the dot. The whole night was incredibly on track considering more than four artists were coming and going from the stage throughout the night and DJs spinning in between each other, but it made for an entertaining night without a single lull in energy.  

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Our photographer told me Chingy was the hardest to photograph, as he kept moving around, dancing and doing a little kick here and there. It was fun to watch, as it was early in the night and people were still filtering into the venue, buying merch and grabbing food and drinks.  

He told the crowd he “flew in from St. Louis just to kick it with y’all,” before playing a song he said came out when most of the crowd “might’ve been in high school or college, but you know it.” 

Not me, because truthfully, Chingy is a little before my time — I’m a ‘99 baby and probably the youngest person there — but his set was fun, upbeat, and his flow is smooth as butter. He’s charming, engaged the crowd, handed out T-shirts and got through five songs in eight minutes. Despite having the shortest stage time of the night, he truly made the most of it, ending the set with his most popular song, “Right Thurr.” 

Hip hop icon EVE came out in a glittery silver two-piece outfit with matching glittery panty hose and boots and introduced her set with the song “Who’s That Girl,” hyping up the crowd alongside her enthusiastic DJ and group of five backup dancers. Eve’s 45-minute set was also a musical journey, paying homage to her legendary career in the industry and monumental anniversaries of her debut album “Let There Be EVE” and “Scorpion.” 

EVE’s set went all the way back to her first hit “What Y’all Want” to “Philly, Philly,” a nod to her hometown in Philadelphia, to “Gangsta Lovin,’” “Rich Girl,” “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” and “Tambourine.” 

Despite having a shorter set, EVE incorporated a fully-choreographed dance break, highlighting each of her dancers — whom she introduced as Steve, Fred, Angus, Cara and Nadja — as well as a moment to pay respects to rapper DMX. 

The rapper even took a moment to thank the crowd, even going so far as to point out people she recognized.  

“A lot of y’all been rocking with me for a long time,” Eve said. 

The “Where the Party At” Tour also marks the first time in nine years that Eve played a show in Indiana, and she told concert-goers she hoped everyone left that night feeling better than when they arrived — echoing what she told me in our interview a week prior. 

Ja Rule came on right after, following a video introduction that introduced his theatrical set titled, “The Evolution of a Dream,” which featured three acts, an outfit change and tributes to both Paul Walker and DMX. Ja Rule’s set began with him “waking up” in a bed onstage and getting dressed while Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” played in the background before launching into his first song.  

I won’t lie, I don’t know Ja Rule’s music that well, but the set list incorporated a lot of his hit singles from his early 2000s albums, including “New York,” “Clap Back,” “I Cry,” “Living it Up,” “Put It on Me” and “Mesmerize.” 

“If you ever lost somebody, this song is for you tonight,” Ja Rule said before playing “I Cry,” prompting concert-goers to get out their cell phone flashlights. “Rest in peace, my brother, DMX. I need you to sing with me tonight, Indiana.” The concert’s headlining artist, Nelly, came out at 9:40 p.m., sporting a custom Indiana Fever Jersey, leather (or maybe snakeskin?) basketball shorts and a crisp pair of sneakers. The stage was set up to look like a club, with backup dancers and guests hanging out onstage. 

Nelly’s setlist hit all the greats of his 25-year career in the industry — the ones I listened to growing up and some of the ones I didn’t. The night started strong with “Where the Party At” before diving into “E.I.,” “Shake Ya Tailfeather” and “Air Force Ones.”  

Nelly’s set also incorporated friends and fellow rappers St. Lunatics, Kyjuan and Murphy Lee. The group collectively performed a few more songs, mixing and remixing a few of their own songs in tandem with tracks from Nelly’s debut album — including “Country Grammar (Hot Sh*t)” and “Ride Wit Me.” Later in the night, Nelly took a detour into his country phase with “Cruise,” “Lil Bit” and “Over and Over” before introducing his nephew J-Kwon, who performed his hit 2004 single “Tipsy.” 

Nelly, who grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, said Indiana — and the Midwest in general — “always feels like home when we come down here.” 

Nelly’s shared set was very relaxed and chill. The sun had set by the time he came onstage and the giant industrial fans created a nice, cool breeze for concert-goers just to sing along, dance and have a good time. 

Nelly ended his set with arguably his most famous hits, “Dilemma,” “Hot in Herre” and “Just a Dream” — which I heard from the parking lot because I didn’t want to get stuck in traffic. 

Nelly’s Where the Party at Tour was a perfect blend of high-energy, nostalgic fun. Truthfully, that’s the best way to describe it.  

Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.