After touring with twenty one pilots and embarking on three different legs of his The Human Condition Tour, Rap/R&B/Alternative artist (in case you cant tell, he is a multi-genre artist) Jon Bellion went on a year long hiatus. Later in the year last year, he re-emerged with his newest record, Glory Sound Prep. Shortly after the release of the first single, the supporting album tour was announced, which lasts for two months and does a decent trek to pretty much every major city in the US. He made a stop in Raleigh on Saturday, and brought the energy and talent that is quite lacking in the modern era of music.
The show started with “JT”, as fans screamed when the backing vocals screeched through the PA’s, just before her arrived on stage in a glow in the dark jacket (seen in the “Stupid Deep” video). During the second song, “Let’s Begin”, Jon brought our long time collaborator Travis Mendes, in order to help him hype the crowd up as he ripped through one of his more hip-hop songs.
Once “Conversations with my Wife” came pumping through the speakers, it became even more clear how elaborate his music actually is. As opposed to playing the song the way it is on the record, he instructed the band to play along with him as he furiously tapped the pads on his electronic drum, making beats and sounds as he went along. While doing this, he clearly completely immersed himself in the music, as you could see him feeding off the crowds energy.
He even commended the other artists around him, as he brought the openers (Lawrence) out and told everyone of the story of how he signed them to his label. He is truly a fan of their music though, as he was caught side-stage grooving to them earlier in the night.
Towards the end of the night, after the numerous jam sessions and all around good times, he slowed the night down for a second to explain something to the crowd. He elaborated that in his mind, Glory Sound Prep was never just an album, or a music venture. It’s something more. So he is funding an animated series to go along with every song from it. But, in order for it to truly become mainstream, and hit somewhere like Snapchat TV, Instagram TV, or one of the numerous online video streaming services, he first must provide “proof of concept”, AKA show to the executives that there is interest in the product. So, every piece of merchandise sold at the shows on the tour have a ticket on them, with a scannable QR code on the back. Using the QR code and the password on the ticket allows fans to a secret website, where each week they get to put their input into the shows characters, settings, and stories. Whether this will truly come to fruition is yet to be determined, but it’s a killer concept and a genius marketing tactic.
JON BELLION Set-List
JT / Let’s Begin / Conversations with my Wife / Couples Retreat / Blu / The Internet (with Lawrence) / All Time Low / Overwhelming / Guillotine (with Travis Mendes) / Adult Swim (Verse 1) / Stupid Deep / Adult Swim (Verse 2) / Cautionary Tales /
Encore:
Good Things Fall Apart
PICTURE GALLERY
