Stevie Mackey has spent years coaching some of pop music's biggest voices behind the scenes, but on Sept. 25 he's bringing his signature living-room sing-along to Ivy City. The vocal coach's Taco Tuesday tour is set to touch down at THRōW Social DC, a 22,000-square-foot tropical-themed entertainment venue, marking the Washington, D.C., stop on a 13-city national run.
The tour, officially titled Taco Tuesday Tour — with Stevie Mackey and Friends, is presented by Zion Productions, LLC in partnership with Sing.com, according to Eventbrite. THRōW Social DC itself is billed as an Ivy City social bar offering furnished cabanas, rooftop space, games, and live entertainment, per the same listing. Tickets are on sale for people who want to either watch the show or sing along, according to WTOP, and the D.C. event has its own submission form separate from the tour's other stops.
Mackey's résumé reads like a pop-music who's-who. WTOP reports he has worked with Jennifer Lopez, Lenny Kravitz, Coldplay, Selena Gomez, and Kelly Rowland, and he spent more than 10 seasons as an off-camera vocal coach on NBC's The Voice, according to the Stevie Mackey Official Website, which also notes he has coached vocal contestants on American Idol. His relationship with Lopez runs especially deep: beyond The Voice, he served as her personal vocal coach for her 2019 It's My Party Tour, her 2025 European Tour, and her 2026 Las Vegas Residency, the same site states.
How a Home Recital Became a National Tour
How a Home Recital Became a National Tour Taco Tuesday didn't start as a tour at all — it began, per WTOP, as Mackey's version of a recital, where new and experienced singers gathered to sing background for one another. Those early sessions at his own home in Los Angeles served tacos with plant-based fillings cooked on a small countertop electric skillet, a detail Mackey still holds onto; he reportedly still has the original small pan. As crowds grew, the gatherings outgrew that skillet.
Before he was known for coaching stars, Mackey wanted to be a professional background singer himself, drawn to the low-pressure camaraderie of performing harmonies with friends, he told 105.1 The Bounce ahead of the tour's Detroit stop. That philosophy still shapes the events today: WTOP reports Mackey said Taco Tuesday was intended to provide a cozy, home-like place for people pursuing their dreams. He earned his music degree at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, a historically Black Seventh-day Adventist institution known for its choral tradition, and has credited his Seventh-day Adventist upbringing and church choir experiences with shaping his coaching style.
What DC Singers Can Expect
For the Washington stop, Mackey and his team are reviewing video submissions from people interested in performing, WTOP reports, with his musician friends and a Taco Tuesday committee helping sort through entries. He plans to bring a couple of people from his own circle to each host city while otherwise focusing on singers from that city, and the review process itself will reportedly be documented on video. Mackey has said he expects local audiences to sing choir parts alongside him during the show.
Previous Los Angeles editions of Taco Tuesday have drawn high-profile pop-ins, including Brandy's daughter Sy'rai Smith, Durand Bernarr, Eric Bellinger, and Emmy winner Amber Riley, according to a Facebook post recounting the events. Smith is mentioned as a guest in accounts of Mackey's events. It's the kind of spontaneous star power organizers are hoping to recreate on a bigger stage as the format scales from a living room to a commercial tropical-themed venue.
A Coach Turned Recording Artist
Mackey also stepped into the spotlight himself in November 2020, releasing his debut holiday album, The Most Wonderful Time, which featured a duet with Jennifer Lopez on “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” according to The Hype Magazine. The 15-track project was recorded during the 2020 quarantine and also featured collaborations with Boyz II Men, JoJo, and Take 6, the outlet noted. He has since expanded into digital education as well, developing a 30-day online vocal masterclass covering vocal runs, breath control, and songwriting, according to GRAMMY GO.
After Washington, the Taco Tuesday tour is scheduled to continue rolling through Chicago, Nashville, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Columbus, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New York, per WTOP's reporting. For a project that started around a single electric skillet in Mackey's living room, the leap to 13 cities marks a striking expansion — but organizers are betting the same intimate, sing-along spirit will translate to Ivy City's cabanas and rooftop space on Sept. 25.
