Benson Boone Concert Review from the August 25 Columbus, Ohio Show

I took my wife and four children (all younger than 15) to the Benson Boone concert at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, and the show did not disappoint. Benson’s performance started with his infamous backflip and running up and down the stage greeting fans, and it ended the same way. The 100-minute show was packed with 22 songs with episodes of high energy, running, light and pyro displays, and lulls of heartfelt songs and mood lighting.

The fans spanned generations. Largely the fanbase consisted of teen and pre-teen girls, but many families of all ages and sizes were there. The show is good for all ages and is loud, but not too loud. If you are taking smaller children, noise reducing headphones are a smart choice, not not completely necessary.

The Opener

The opening act for the Columbus show, and for the first part of Benson’s tour, is Elliot James Reay, a young British performer who could easily be described as the new Elvis. His three-piece band featured 50s and 60s rock and roll and rockabilly sounds. In the middle of the 40-minute set, Elliot slowed things down and wowed the audience with an excellent cover of Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers (c. 1965). Though it was difficult to understand his British accent when he was talking to the crowd, his voice was crystal clear while he was crooning. Elliot offered a fun grouping of songs that gave a fresh look and sound to the rock and roll era.

After the opening act concluded, it took about 30 minutes for Benson to appear. In the meantime, there were two comical teaser videos featuring Jack LaFrantz.

The Stage

The stage design was a large part of the show’s success. Lined with moving sky beams, the front of the stage was shaped like a heart and had two hydraulic circles - one used as an elevated stage and one for bringing a grand piano on and off the ‘heart stage.’ The heart stage connected to the back part of the stage via a runway with runway lights just like an airport. The back part of the stage was a circle, and housed the four-piece band, a ramp that led up to another grand piano sitting on a third hydraulic lift to appear and disappear as needed. Behind it all was a giant screen that could open from the middle.

Three Sets

The show was broken into three sets, each set with highs and lows. The first set of seven songs was by far the most energetic and no one sat down the entire set. Visually this part featured pyro and light displays, a white microphone, and a mountain backdrop that opened into a white aura while Benson stood on the piano and sang as a silhouette. His hit, Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else, was a musical highlight of this set.

Set two started with Benson singing Mystical Magical while riding a chandelier from the circle to the heart suspended in the air. He descended unto the piano and turned the heart into a kind of blue lounge while the chandelier dangled eight feet above him. The blue theme helped slow the tempo as he played piano and sang several ballads into his blue microphone. He shared meaningful stories about his songs before elevating 15 feet on the heart stage (with no harness or barrier to keep him from falling).

The final set was a mix of ballads and heavy hitter songs where Benson showed his full vocal range, hitting some high notes that would give a young Steven Tyler a run for his money. Benson had his friend, Mr. McClain, fire a t-shirt cannon to one lucky “random citizen” in the upper bowl. The t-shirt said “when we were young,” and Benson continued by singing the Adele song into his red microphone. The band, who had been staged in the circle the entire time walked to the heart to perform the Mama Song with Benson on piano. They immediately returned to the circle to finish up the last few songs, including the finale Beautiful Things.

After Benson’s final backflip (I counted six in total) during Beautiful Things, he exited the stage with the band and the lights went dark. After several minutes the runway lights turned on and he came out for the encore, Cry.

There is no bad seat in the house as the stage extends most of the arena and Benson actively walks and jumps around the entire stage for maximum audience engagement. This was a great family-friendly show with very talented artists.