War Celebrates 50 Years of Riding Low & Making Friends

Via Burstmethod.com

Since their formation in 1969, War, an American funk and soul band has been on a mission of spreading brotherhood and harmony. Through their music, the band has spoken out against racism, hunger, gangs, crime, turf wars, and promoted seeking love, peace, and understanding. War considers themselves a musical laboratory, experimenting with sounds and styles as diverse as their band members.

Their relentless pursuit of creativity and acoustic excellence would result in the band’s album “The World is a Ghetto” achieving platinum status and becoming Billboard’s best-selling album of 1973, tipping the Billboard 200 charts for 16 weeks. In 2024, they performed as part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and on 5 June 2025, they were honored by being given a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star, celebrating the band’s message of promoting unity over division and love and understanding over hatred and violence.

On 26 September, War brought their 50thAnniversary Tour of their “Why Can’t We Be Friends” album to Rams Head on Stage in Annapolis, Maryland. The 1975 album achieved platinum status, hit #9 on the Billboard 200, and the title track has been a long-standing fan-favorite to hear live. The album featured song the song “Low Rider,” which has over 276 million streams in Spotify and has been featured in movies such as Robots (2005), A Knight’s Tale (2001), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Friday (1995) and the cult classic Up in Smoke (1978), just to name a few. The title track “Why Can’t We Be Friends” was equally popular, being featured in “The Final Destination” (2009). “Bridge to Terabithia (2007), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), and in television shows such as King of the Hill, Friends, and The Simpsons.

Through their 56+ year musical career, War has released 29 albums. With well over two hundred songs to choose from for their setlist, War spent the evening playing a variety of fan and band favorites. “Slippin’ into Darkness” had the audience dancing along, and “Spill the Wine” was the very embodiment of 70s groove and soul, taking the audience on a trip back in time to simpler days. During a break, keyboardist, Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan began to introduce the next song, only to be interrupted by the audience bursting into song and singing the chorus to “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”

“Hey now! I won’t be bullied into playing songs you want to hear,” Lonnie said with a good-natured laugh and a mischievous smile, earning a round of laughter and cheers from the crowd.

The connection Lonnie created with the audience, from start to finish, was less of a performer and more of a fun-loving friend. He shared stories, laughs, and goofed off with them—performing on an invisible keyboard at times or even on the floor, for some very low, unseen and unheard notes. Lonnie’s positivity was infectious. It’s no wonder he serves as the band’s leader. He unites and inspires people just as expertly as he plays.

When he played the opening chords of “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” the entire venue burst into cheers, joining together to sing the refrain for the entire song. As one of the final songs of the night, it was the perfect way to bring people together. The last song in their set, “Low Rider,” another fan favorite, had the audience up, out of their chairs, clapping and dancing along to the beat.

Overall, War put on a fantastic concert! From start to finish, it was a celebration that had the entire audience smiling and giving standing ovations at the end of many of the songs. I highly recommend seeing War live. War is on tour now through May 2026.