After multiple shows in Nashville, including a sold out show at Exit/In back in 2018, Hobo Johnson and the Lovemakers finally came to the Brooklyn Bowl on July 20, 2024. After opening acts from Nashville local BabyJake, and Remo Drive from Bloomington, Minnesota, the crowd was amped up and anxiously waited for his entrance to the stage. It didn’t take long before the lights dimmed to a red silhouette and the group walked out onto the stage. He opened the set with “Mover Awayer” from his 2019 album ‘The Fall of Hobo Johnson”. The crowd loudly screamed “She makes my Mondays feel like Fridays!” and happily jumped along with the group. The crowd went crazy when the intro for “Romeo and Juliet” from the 2017 album “The Rise of Hobo Johnson” started and the whole band could be seen smiling and singing along with the crowd.
The setlist consisted of more classics such as “Sex in the City”, “Creve Coeur”, and “Subaru Crosstrek XV” but we also got plenty of new releases such as “FLOOD THE EARTH AGAIN”, “Dari#$%”. Hobo brought the set down a little with a solo rendition of “SACRAMENTO 12 STEP” and “February 15th”. The show quickly amped back up when he openly said no to “Mark Zuckerberg and his Metaverse” before breaking out into a song with the title of “Metaverse”. Right before the band left the stage, they played “Peach Scone” and brought Remo Drive back out to perform the song with them, the song that went viral back in 2018 on NPR’s Tiny Desk and launched Hobo’s career.
The crowd sang along with Hobo and the Lovemakers all night and despite the heat and how tired everyone felt, they sang and danced all night. The band left the stage and just when we thought they were done, they walked back out and started playing “Typical”. The crowd couldn’t contain their excitement when the song played and you could tell the whole group was loving the energy of the crowd. Smiles spread across every face and the whole band interacted with each other in such a fluid and easy manner, you could tell that they had been together for a while and it was almost as if they could anticipate each others next move. Getting to see the love, fierceness, and passion that Hobo Johnson and the Lovemakers have for performing and their fan base is truly beautiful and something everyone should witness at least once.
- Ashlee Riggins
Photos Courtesy of Ashlee Riggins (For Bell Music Magazine)
