Jonas Brothers
RodeoHouston
NRG Stadium
March 15, 2024
Despite being a lifelong, unapologetic fan of boy bands, I completely missed the boat on the Jonas Brothers.
I cut my teeth on the New Kids on the Block cartoon, spent my prime tween years obsessing over the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC (and every one of their knockoffs), and today average about a dozen K-pop concerts a year. But the Jonas Brothers remain a pretty big gap in my boy band knowledge. Real talk: Prior to the announcement of their return to RodeoHouston back in January, I couldn’t have named a JoBros song if a million dollars was on the line.
Still, this is a show for me, and I want to acknowledge that.
The Jonas Brothers – Kevin, Joe and Nick – were here back in October, playing the Toyota Center as part of their “Five Albums One Night” world tour. They’re still in the midst of that tour, in which they play music from, well, five albums over three hours. An hour-ish set on the RodeoHouston stage doesn’t really allow for that kind of depth, but the brothers did play, as they put it, “the highlights.” And it was still career-spanning, from their Disney Channel roots and across their five Billboard-charting albums.
Cowboy hats on, the Jonas Brothers jumped right into their set with the high-energy “Celebrate!” The horns blared on this funk-infused throwback written for their 2023 album titled, simply, The Album. The stage was a full house, and joy seemed to spill out from every band member, backup singer and, of course, Jonas brother. Despite being, as the brothers mentioned later, seven or eight months into a tour, everything on stage seemed loose and fun, and it was an infectious feeling.
After a nod to the last time they played RodeoHouston back in 2009 (and a “Can I get a yeehaw?”), the trio played two more incredibly catchy songs released after 2020: “What A Man Gotta Do” and “Waffle House.” After, we took a trip back to 2007 and “S.O.S.” – the band’s first Top 20 hit – to see “how many OG Jonas Brothers fans we have in the house.” A lot, judging by the high-pitched but full-of-love screams that greeted the song.
For the briefest of moments, I was hit by how odd it was to see such an outpouring of nostalgia for something so recent before remembering that 2007 was, in fact, almost 20 years ago. Yikes. Luckily, the band quickly launched into “Cool,” another more recent tune with an addictive hook perfect for distracting me from any intrusive thoughts.
“Many years ago, we were in a movie or two…” led into the Camp Rock portion of the evening, a medley of songs from the Disney Channel musicals including Joe’s “Gotta Find You” from the first film and Nick’s “Introducing Me” from the second. The campfire singalong atmosphere was short-lived, but sweet, as then they moved on to “Play My Music.”
The cell phone flashlights came out for the next song, a ballad called “When You Look Me in the Eyes,” before the crowd got busy jumping for “Year 3000,” a cover of a 2003 Busted song that scored them their first charting song, and Top 40 hit, back in 2007.
A pulsating, feel-in-your-bones beat kicked off Nick’s song “Jealous,” from his second solo album, and from my seat, it was the first time all night I actually got to hear him with any clarity. Earlier in the evening, it was hard to catch a lot of his lyrics, which was a shame. Keeping the solo, side projects going was “Cake by the Ocean,” Joe’s 2015 hit with DNCE. Guitarist JinJoo Lee delivered a hell of a guitar solo on the song, falling to her knees at one point, and her skill was much appreciated by the crowd.
The set’s “something special” turned out to be a cover of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places,” a pretty faithful take on the song, particularly with Joe’s Brooks-matching vocals.
The 2008 song “Lovebug” was then met with a wave of cheers, followed by an equally hyped reaction for “Burnin’ Up.” Joe proclaimed, “We’re not done yet,” as they band went into three final bangers: “Only Human,” “Sucker” and “Leave Before You Love Me,” their 2021 hit song with Marshmello.
The party-like atmosphere wound down, leaving only the memory of a tight, non-stop set that was full of fun even for a non-fan. The Jonas Brothers are immensely talented, and I may not wear the extra rosy-colored glasses of nostalgia when it comes to the trio, but I can say that their more recent music is the stuff of pure, wonderful pop, the kind of songs that made me wish I could join in and sing along with the fans around me. The fans were great, every single word sung, estrogen-tinged and off-key, just the way it’s supposed to be.
Miscellaneous Notes: Concerns about the bad weather proved to be totally unfounded as it turns out the Jonas Brothers set a new all-time record for paid attendance at 75,600. Despite mentioning cowboy hats, I’m almost certain a cowboy hat never graced the head of Kevin Jonas. And, from a distance, Joe Jonas looked a bit like he was on his way to join the Pink Ladies.
Overheard in the Crowd: “Joe Jonas always looked like a man to me.”
Overheard in the Crowd #2: “Did you know that there are three Jonas Brothers?”
Setlist
Celebrate!
What A Man Gotta Do
Waffle House
S.O.S.
Cool
Gotta Find You
Introducing Me
Play My Music
When You Look Me in the Eyes
Year 3000
Jealous
Cake by the Ocean
Friends in Low Places
Lovebug
Burnin’ Up
Only Human
Sucker
Leave Before You Love Me
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
