A family atmosphere pervaded Raley Field Friday night as neo-soul artists Vaughn Anthony, India Arie and John Legend performed to a crowd of thousands. The diverse audience of fans who attended the show varied in age; much of the audience was made up of young and old couples and families.

Around 7 p.m. Anthony, Legend's younger brother, opened the show with a 20-minute set. As people were still finding their seats, he brought a self-proclaimed "old-school R&B" sound to the Sacramento audience, but he essentially sounded like a poppier version of his older brother.

Arie took the stage for the next hour, dressed in a wig, colorful scarves and bright makeup. She started off with a prayer song from her latest of four albums, Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics.

As Arie warmed up, her soulful vocals increased in intensity to the point that she resembled a melding of Aretha Franklin's power and Lauryn Hill's grace. She played her hit songs "Video," "I Am Not My Hair" and "There's Hope," a cover of Sade's "Pearls," as well as many new songs from her latest album.

In the middle of "I Am Not My Hair," she pulled off a wig to reveal her cleanly shaven head. During "There's Hope," she walked into the crowd and proceeded to high-five audience members.

For the last song of her set, the ballad "Ready for Love," Arie brought out her mother, who sang the last half of the song. It was a seamless transfer, with her mother Joyce Arie (a former Motown singer herself) taking over as beautifully as her daughter played flute.

After an intermission, Legend entered the field through a tunnel usually reserved for baseball players. He walked into the middle of the audience to perform his first song, a cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," while being swarmed by high-fives and hugs.

Then as security guards cleared the way, he walked onto the stage to join an impressive 11-piece band complete with a rhythm section, three-piece horn section and a three-piece, all-female backup vocal choir. He continued his high-energy set with "Used to Love U," and hits like "It's Over," "Stereo" and "PDA," during which he played a grand piano with smoothness and dexterity.

In the middle of his set, Legend and his band backed his younger brother as Anthony sang his original song "If I Were in Your Shoes." During "Good Morning," a song off his latest album Evolver, released in 2008, Arie took to the stage to duet with Legend.

And before the ballad called "Slow Dance," Legend chose a girl from the audience to dance with. After the dance, he gave her a red rose and kissed her, drawing a collective "awww" from the audience.

The highlight of the show came when Legend played his latest single, "Green Light," and segued into The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." During the Beatles cover, Legend left the stage as his band finished the song before exiting as well.

Legend came back to play a solo version of his Grammy-winning song "Ordinary People," accompanying himself on piano. The band came back on stage to perform "Stay with You," a sweet song to cap off a sweet night of love songs, family and couples dancing to the music.