This past Friday, April 8th, the Eagle’s Landing featured the exceptional musical duo Chinua Hawk.

For days prior to the concert and even when sitting in the Eagle’s Landing waiting for nine o’clock to roll around, many speculated as to how to merely pronounce the name of the singer. My own speculation was proved wrong when Chinua pronounced the name as “Shin-wa” Hawk. Not even knowing how to pronounce the name, I had no clue what to expect when the show started.

Chinua Hawk is an indie group made up of the titular singer and his partner, Chris Blackwell, on the acoustic guitar. The singing is higher pitched but very harmonious and emotional, resembling a cross between Bruno Mars, George Michael and Adam Levine.

Mr. Blackwell is a fantastic guitar player, producing a lot of complicated guitar riffs and beats while at the same time mastering the calm and melodic sections of the more tranquil tunes.

The duo played many cover songs, including “If I Could Change The World” by Eric Clapton, “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5, “Forget You” by Cee-Lo Green and “My Girl” by The Temptations. Many of his own songs he performed such as “Nickel to Spare” and “After the Rain” featured aspects of the soul and classic R&B music that he enjoyed dabbling in.

The audience was absorbed in his performance, singing along to his cover of Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” and a couple of his own songs.

As a playful joke, Chinua Hawk encouraged the audience to repeat his part back to him which began as simple Woah-Woahs. Eventually, he reached so high a note that the response back from the audience varied in notes and in octaves, causing Chinua to laugh so much he could not finish the song. Everyone laughed with him and smiles covered the faces of everyone in the audience.

The event ended a few minutes past 10. Chinua Hawk closed with the Golden Girls’ theme “Thank You For Being a Friend.” The audience proceeded to swarm the front of the room, eager to buy his CD “Sunflower: Revisited” and to get a picture with the Hip/Hop and soul artist.