Concert Reviews
Burgeoning heartthrob Benson Boone hung from a chandelier and backflipped seven times throughout his night in Boston. Oh, and he sang too.
Benson Boone performs at the Estereo Picnic music festival in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, March 27, 2025. AP
Benson Boone is on track to become Gen Alpha’s heartthrob by the end of his 50-stop American Heart Tour.
The 23-year-old Washington native grew to fame after his songs went viral on social media, and it shows as the tour for his sophomore album, “American Heart,” sold out in nine seconds.
“We love Boston. This is one of my favorite cities in the world,” Boone told the audience.
The crowd consisted of mostly families with young children and teenagers wearing their patriotic best of cowboy hats, heart sunglasses, and sequins that called to mind an adolescent version of Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” 2025 stadium tour.
The young crowd was electrified by the anticipation leading up to Boone’s performance and screamed every time the images changed on the big screen.
“Sitting backstage … you guys have been wonderful already. Before I even came out, you guys were a loud crowd,” Boone said.
Known for his stunts, Boone kept the audience on its toes with seven backflips throughout the night, often in the middle of his songs and without any lead up, which added to the thrill.
Watch video of Boone’s on-stage antics below:
This has been a “really big year for me … Booner Nation! … Pretend I never said that,” Boone joked, referring to his breakout success this year following his Grammy nomination for Best New Artist on the heels of his debut album, “Fireworks & Rollerblades,” and his high-profile performance at the awards show.
Strutting and running across the stage of two heart-shaped platforms connected by a runway spanning the length of the arena, Boone kept the audience engaged, even if the constant running and pointing grew familiar after a few songs of the same routine.
Despite the often predictable moves during each song, Boone maintained the momentum and energy of the show, with fireworks, heart-shaped confetti, three outfit changes, and performing from different parts of the stage as he jumped on and off of raised platforms.
Boone stunned the crowd by reentering the show floating on a gigantic blue chandelier for his performance of “Mystical Magical” at the beginning of the second act.
The singer is known, for better or worse, for the “Mystical Magical” lyric, “You can feel like/ Moonbeam ice cream/ Taking off your blue jeans/ Dancing at the movies.” Moonbeam ice cream even became a Crumbl cookie flavor — a chilled chocolate cookies and cream cookie with lemon and berry toppings — in late June, and returned for an encore week in early July, according to the Today Show.
A few songs later, the crowd belted it out for “In The Stars,” which Boone performed from a blue bedazzled grand piano on a raised platform.
He called the song a “special moment to have with the crowd” since the song explores his grief after the passing of a loved one.
“It’s your song,” Boone said. “If this is your first time hearing ‘In The Stars,’ welcome to the family.”
On the American Heart Tour, Boone covers a different song at every show, ranging from hits by Adele to Bruno Mars.
Videos of his covers have gone viral online, and he’s been compared to Kelly Clarkson, a nod to Boone’s roots on “American Idol” where he withdrew from the Top 24 in 2021. “Apparently the whole internet just found out I can sing,” he said.
For the eighth stop on his tour, Boone announced the cover song by serving as a human T-shirt cannon (saying he lost the real thing), and launching a white shirt with the words “Stay with Me” into the hands of a happy kid.
Boone encouraged the audience to sing along to the Sam Smith song, although the younger audience members weren’t familiar with the 2014 hit.
The audience sang loudly along to Boone’s biggest song, “Beautiful Things,” which hit No. 2 on the Billboard charts in March 2024, almost two months after its release, and spent 83 weeks on the chart.
For the encore, Boone changed into a light blue suit with a deep v-neck undershirt to perform “Cry” before falling into the stage when the lights went black.
Benson Boone is a lovable performer with the flair to back it up. However, it’s worth noting that the retro vibes the tour’s been touted for were found pretty much exclusively in Boone’s outfits, primarily ’70s- and ’80s-style open vests (with no undershirt). His music, on the other hand, is strictly modern style pop.
Not so for his opener, Britain’s Elliot James Reay. Taking heavy influence from the ’50s and ’60s era, Reay was Elvis all over, from his pompadour hair, leg twisting and toe tapping right through to his well-done cover of “Unchained Melody” (a hit for the Righteous Brothers but famously sung by Presley during his final concerts).
Setlist for Benson Boone at TD Garden, Boston, Sept. 2, 2025Act 1
I Wanna Be the One You Call
Wanted Man
Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else
Man in Me
Drunk in My Mind
Slow It Down
Be Someone
Act 2
Mystical Magical
Pretty Slowly
In The Stars
Medley of Let Me Go/ There She Goes/Sugar Sweet
Take Me Home
Young American Heart
Mr Electric Blue
Cover of Stay with Me by Sam Smith
Mamma Song
Love of Mine
Reminds Me of You
Beautiful Things
Encore
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