Originally posted Wednesday, January 9, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
About 15 years ago, in the early days of "reality television," MTV aired a delightfully goofy Hollywood couple Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson.
Jessica's younger sister Ashlee Simpson last year followed in her footsteps with her own reality show on E! with her actor/singer husband Evan Ross called "Ashlee + Evan." On her show, she balances life as a musician, wife and mom.
And now she and Ross - who plays Angel Rivera on the Atlanta-based Fox show "Star - are on the road performing together as a duo also dubbed Ashlee + Evan at the Loft in Midtown. The concert is on Thursday, January 10 at 8 p.m. (Tickets available here, $25 in advance, $30 at the door.)
Ross, who did his first film here “ATL” in 2006 and shot two “Hunger Games” here as well, wanted to ensure the tour stopped in Atlanta. (The tour began earlier this week in New York and they were in D.C. when I talked to them Tuesday.)
“I love it out there,” said Ross, 30. “I have so many friends there.”
The start of the nine-city tour, which began earlier this week in New York, “was an amazing experience,” said Simpson, 34. “Since we’ve met, we’ve always wanted to do music together.”
Their very poppy duet “I Do” is very much about their love for each other.
Simpson hasn't toured regularly in a good decade. For Ross, this is a new experience though he sure knows about the music business because his mom happens to be Diana Ross.
The couple has been married since 2014 and has a three-year-old daughter Jagger Snow. (Simpson’s son Bronx Mowgli from a previous marriage with Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz is now 10.)
The concert, which features a full band, will cull from their eponymous 2018 EP as well as Simpson’s solo work, including her 2004-2006 era hits such a “Pieces of Me” and “La La.”
“It’s very intimate,” Simpson said. “It’s like we’re at home playing with friends.” (The Loft’s capacity is up to about 650 people.)
CONCERT PREVIEW
Ashlee + Evan
8 p.m., Thursday, January 10, 2019
$25 in advance, $30 in person
The Loft
1374 West Peachtree Street, NW Atlanta
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