Hear it! - Music, Art, and Culture

Albuquerque, NM - First Financial Credit Union Amphitheater -September 28th, 2026

On September 28th, 2026, the legendary Wu-Tang Clan brought The Final Chamber to the largest music venue in New Mexico, the First Financial Credit Union Amphitheater. Rain fell for nearly the entire night, turning the venue into a sea of soaked clothes and slick pavement. If ever there was a group willing to stand outside through a downpour, it’s a gathering of the masses that come to pay respects to the Wu-Tang Clan.

The tour, which has been billed as Wu-Tang Clan’s farewell to large-scale touring, brought together the surviving original members along with Young Dirty Bastard, first born son of the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and several additional performers throughout the night. Leading the charge was of course, the abbot and long-time head of the group, RZA. From there, the rest of the original members would dramatically trickle in as the set list applied the spotlight to their respective verses.

While attempting the almost impossible goal of quickly explaining the deep Wu lore to a friend that attended the show with me, I found myself comparing the Wu members to comic book super heroes. An appropriate comparison I’d say, as many of the alter egos used by group members are taken from famous Marvel figures like Tony Stark (Ghostface Killah) or Johnny Blaze (Method Man), and so on and so forth. The dramatic introductions of each member felt like the Avengers assembling with each track. Eventually, the GZA, Young Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Dec, Raekwon the Chef, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Masta Killa and Chappadona all got their time to shine.

Their setlist obviously had no shortage of recognizable tracks. Songs like C.R.E.A.M., Protect Ya Neck, Bring da Ruckus and Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit all made appearances, to the deafeningly loud appreciation of the over ten thousand fans in attendance. The energy in the crowd for every track continued to rise. I even received potentially the highest honor a photographer could receive from the clan: a targeted blast of water thrown by Method Man. At one point Meth pointed me out to the Chef and proceeded to walk directly to me and throw an entire bottle of water directly on me. I so swear it was intentional, I thankfully got it on video from the crowd view. Does that count as a blessing from one of the highest generals of the Wu? I chose to think so. What a time to be alive.

Young Dirty Bastard was also a standout for me. YDB has plenty of his own energy onstage while still carrying pieces of his dad’s presence with him, and watching that happen surrounded by the remaining members of Wu-Tang was heartwarming to say the least. After performing songs his pops made world famous, like Shimmy Shimmy Ya, there was a notable moment with the large video screens showing graphics of his father above YDB as he hit a dramatic pose after dramatic pose, definitely invoking the sweet thought of his father proudly looking down upon his first born as he commanded the attention of massive crowds all the way in 2026.

RZA had a pretty surprising claim at one point as he announced that September 28th had been recognized as Wu-Tang Day in the city by the mayor of Albuquerque, Tim Keller. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to find doing some research on this, but I wasn’t able to find a publicly posted copy or proclamation for such a holiday, so for now I can only attribute that announcement directly to RZA. However, if you know Mayor Keller and his affinity for live music, it’s not at all an outlandish claim and I for one, chose to believe this as fact and will absolutely be celebrating September 28th accordingly. The love shown to the locals by the group was very apparent, especially with Raekwon wearing NM United gear for part of the performance, arguably our most beloved sports team besides the UNM Lobos.

Another moment that made the ABQ stop on the tour feel unique was possibly the sweetest birthday celebration I’ve ever seen during a live show. Raekwon brought out a woman by the name of Cinnamon, who was described as an absolutely massive and beloved behind the scenes member of the Wu, despite her never being on stage in the years of her working to bring the Wu-Tang experience to the world. After being bestowed a tiara and presented a birthday cake alit with candles, she was visibly emotional as the entirety of the group of MC’s surrounded her with embraces of genuine appreciation. With all of these seemingly individualized moments throughout the set, it’s easy to feel like the crowd experienced a truly special night.

There is naturally a little more weight to seeing a group on a farewell tour, especially one that has been around as long as Wu-Tang Clan. Nobody really knows what “final” means in music. I wouldn’t be shocked, or remotely disappointed, to hear of another tour coming down the line. Regardless of what the future holds, there is no question about the legacy cemented in music history by the all mighty Wu-Tang Clan.

If this is indeed the final time the entire group takes over an Albuquerque venue, this lifelong fan feels absolutely honored to have documented the show. This was one of those bucket list shows for me, a real career goal. Whether it be by the photographer shooting his largest show to date, the beloved birthday girl blowing out candles on stage, or the seemingly hundreds of children walking hand in hand with their parents wearing rain ponchos, it’s safe to say many unforgettable memories were made in the venue that night. I hope a lot of those young kids explore the group's discography as they get older, because as we all know, Wu-tang is for the children after all.