Review: LIL WAYNE 20 YEARS OF CARTER CLASSICS at Mystic Lake Amphitheatre

il Wayne took over Mystic Lake Amphitheater on September 15, bringing a long list of familiar songs and plenty of nostalgia along with him.

The show was part of Lil Wayne: 20 Years of Carter Classics and featured 2 Chainz, making for a pairing that made sense considering how often the two have worked together over the years.

From the moment Wayne hit the stage, it was clear that a good portion of the crowd had been listening to his music for years. This was a show built for longtime fans, with music stretching across different points of his career and reminding everyone just how many songs he's released along the way.

Wayne has one of those catalogs where the opening seconds of a song are sometimes all it takes to get a reaction. Tracks like "Fireman," "Mr. Carter," "Got Money," "A Milli" and "Lollipop" come from a period when it was almost impossible to turn on the radio without hearing him.

The Carter albums were obviously a big part of the night, but Wayne's career goes well beyond those records. Between his mixtapes, collaborations and guest verses, he's been part of an enormous amount of music. That gave the show plenty to pull from and kept things moving quickly.

Having 2 Chainz there also added to the night. The two have a history together that goes back years, so his appearance felt like a natural fit rather than simply having another big name on the bill.

There wasn't a need for an elaborate production behind Wayne. The crowd was there for him and the music, and that's what carried the show. People were on their feet, singing and rapping along as one recognizable song followed another.

It was also interesting to see how well some of these songs have held up. Music that came out 15 or 20 years ago still got some of the biggest reactions of the night, especially from fans who probably remember exactly where they were when they first heard it.

Wayne has been doing this long enough that fitting his career into one concert is nearly impossible. There are the Carter albums, the mixtapes, Young Money years, collaborations and countless guest appearances. Even after a full show, there are plenty of songs that could have been added.

But that was also part of what made the night work.

Rather than trying to cover everything, the show gave fans a chance to revisit different pieces of a career that has stretched across generations of hip-hop.

For longtime Lil Wayne fans at Mystic Lake Amphitheater, it was a fun night of hearing many of those songs live again — and a reminder of just how much music he's given them over the years.

Photo courtesy of Lil Wayne

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