BENSON BOONE ON ‘AMERICAN HEART’ TOUR PERFORMS AT A SOLD OUT CO-OP LIVE ARENA

Two sold-out nights in a row, Benson Boone put on a show at the Co-op Live in Manchester; the intricate stage designs, multiple outfit changes and crowd interactions created such a captivating show for every single member of the audience. I had the absolute pleasure of being able to watch Night 2 of these two shows of the American Heart tour and Benson Boone completely won me over. The show was so moving, the vibes changing from happy to sad constantly with the setlist, but the crowds energy stayed high the whole 2 hour long show.

Opening during this tour is Elliot James Reay, a British classic songwriter who really enjoys the 50s and 60s style of music. His set is slow and melodic, warming the crowd up for Benson Boone very successfully. Singing a mix of his own songs during this opening set as well as covers such as ‘Oh, Pretty Woman‘ by Roy Orbison and ‘Unchained Melody‘ by Hy Zaret and Alex North.

Benson Boone grew popularity quite rapidly on social media for his amazing voice, songwriting ability and of course: his flips. The show was packed with so much energy and constant change: running up and down the incredibly long catwalk, multiple outfit changes, doing front and back flips off of various objects, jumping into the crowd and even floating around the arena on a giant swinging chandelier.

The start of the show displayed a short joke-y promo video for this tour- American Heart– playing on the big screen minutes before the anticipated lights out and show start. The opening song ‘I Wanna Be The One You Call‘ started with a big bang (literally) as fireworks and various pyros went off near the back of the ‘main’ part of the stage as Benson Boone emerged from under the stage, rising up accompanied by fog and blinding lights. Most of the songs before the first ‘short break’ are from ‘American Heart‘ or ‘Fireworks & Rollerblades‘, before one of the most awaited moments of the night: Benson Boone floating through the arena, attached to a massive chandelier while singing ‘Mystical Magical‘.

Following one of his most well-known song ‘In The Stars‘, a deeply emotional song about losing a loved one and learning to live through the grief, Boone announced that the next 3 songs were “older ones that haven’t been performed in a while”, which the audience seemed very keen and happy to hear again. After song ‘Take Me Home‘, another short break/outfit change took place before the upbeat ‘Young American Heart‘ started, with confetti cannons shooting red, white and blue pieces of confetti all over the catwalk and audience, the colours fitting in perfectly with the theme of the tour and most recent album ‘American Heart‘.

One of my favourite parts of the show was the reveal of the cover they would perform. A t-shirt cannon was brought out to stage and shot high, reaching the 3rd level in seating, and the woman presented it to the cameras to reveal: ‘All I Want‘ by Kodaline. The excitement in the room felt electric.

Emotions were all over the place during the last few songs. ‘Momma Song‘ was played with a montage of videos from Boone’s childhood in the background, showing off his upbringing and parents, and how much love his mother has for him. ‘Love Of Mine‘ was performed on the piano, a very deeply meaningful song to many in the audience, ending with a thank you from Boone for no one ruining the moment by yelling crude words or phrases during the silences. Right before the start of the Encore, ‘Beautiful Things‘ was performed and the whole crowd lit up. Clearly this song resonates with such a large part of Benson Boone’s audience, as there was not a singe person screaming the iconic lyrics to the chorus. The Encore itself was only one song: ‘Cry‘. And believe me, many people did. The ending was as perfect as can be, this was genuinely one of the best shows I have seen in a long time and I cannot emphasise that enough.

Thank you Benson Boone for such a magical night.