Because you likely missed him when he opened for Maxwell and Mary J., tickets for Ro James go on sale Friday

It was a welcome announcement this week that Ro James will play South Side Music Hall on Feb. 16.

Traffic was awful the last time he was through here on Friday, Dec. 2.

There were accidents to the East and there was a stoppage to the West. Who knows what was happening in the other directions? That meant folks were still streaming into the King and Queen of Hearts Tour stop at American Airlines Center more than two hours after the ticketed start time.

While that may have gotten them the tail end of Mary J. Blige's set and Maxwell in full, it didn't help those who wanted to see James perform.

James' hot-like-fire single "Permission" off El Dorado had topped the charts and garnered the singer's first Grammy nomination, for R&B Performance. And, just today, he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist.

He was nominated earlier this year for the Soul Train Award for Best New Artist; it went to Anderson .Paak. But James burned down the stage with performances of "Permission" and "Already Knew That."

It must be gratifying for him to know that, though some folks in Dallas may have missed him Dec. 2, Grammy was listening.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 16, at 10 a.m. for the "XIX Tour."

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