Formed in 2005, the Jonas Brothers were an integral part of many of our childhoods. They gained popularity on Disney Channel where we saw them on Hannah Montana, Camp Rock and, eventually, their own series JONAS. The band broke up in 2013 as Nick went on to have a successful solo career and Joe became the lead vocalist of dance-rock group DNCE. They reunited in 2019 to release their single “Sucker” and album Happiness Begins. With five studio albums and over 20 million sales, the Jonas Brothers are absolutely iconic.
Prior to their 1.5-hour performance, two openers made an appearance that electrified the audience. The first to come on stage was 34-year-old Jordan McGraw. Although he is a lesser-known artist, McGraw’s ability to interact with the audience and keep them entertained appeared as if he had been doing this for years. Seven songs were performed, each of them upbeat and a showcase of his pop style. After doing a quick Google search and unexpectedly discovering that he is the son of TV psychologist Dr.Phil, we concluded that he is a great artist to keep an eye out for and look forward to seeing what he does next.
Next, and the main opening act on the tour, was country-pop singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini. The 28-year-old from Tennessee has been on the rise for a little while now and her bubbly personality combined with her soothing voice was nothing short of captivating. Ballerini’s set was 12 catchy songs where, near the end, she paid homage to some of her favorites with covers of “Teardrops on My Guitar,” “Breakaway” and “Lucky.” A 2008 home video was even featured where she filmed herself talking about how much she loved the Jonas Brothers. It was clearly a meaningful full-circle moment for her which was inspiring to witness. If you are interested in checking out some of her music, “Miss Me More,” “half of my hometown” and “I Quit Drinking” were her best songs of the night.
Photo Credit: Kelsea Ballerini
After a two-hour performance from the opening acts, it was finally showtime. They opened with “Remember This,” one of the tracks on their most recent album. It was a lively, exciting and beautiful way to make an entrance. As they went on to perform the next 24 songs of the set, the energy felt throughout the venue was magical. Everybody was singing their hearts out and it felt like a unifying experience. Songs ranged from “Only Human” and “Cool” from their 2019 Happiness Begins album to “Levels” and “Jealous” from Nick’s solo career to “Cake by the Ocean” by DNCE to “Burnin’ Up” and “S.O.S” from their older early-2000s albums. They even sang a recently released song called “Mercy” that was featured on the Space Jam movie soundtrack.
Photo Credit: Joe Jonas
By far the best performance of the night was their 2008 hit “Lovebug.” The song starts out really endearing and mellow which made it a great opportunity to really hear their stellar vocals. Later in the song, there is a big shift and it becomes more of a rock song. Colorful, elaborate sparks went off on the stage and we witnessed the insane guitar talent of Kevin Jonas. At this point in the performance, everybody was on their feet, dancing and singing like nobody was watching.
The brothers’ sound has clearly matured and they are no longer the teenage boys we grew up loving, which was made evident when Joe took a swig of tequila halfway through the show. They sound phenomenal live, really no different from their albums and were very entertaining to watch. Even after performing the same songs hundreds of times over the past 16 years, they maintained a remarkable stage presence that never led you to believe that they were tired of doing this. Joe took on the role of cameraman at one point and filmed the crowd while Nick let everyone know that one of the couples up front had just gotten engaged with a big “congratulations.”
Photo Credit: Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas
Seeing this band live who so many of us grew up obsessing over was truly monumental. They played all of their most popular songs and it was the perfect way for everyone to experience some nostalgia about all of the memories we have tied to this music. With a new memoir on the way, it will be interesting to see where the band goes from here, but we will definitely be watching.
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