JON BELLION AT THE MET IN PHILADELPHIA, PA

Imagine standing in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,500 people to kick off the first night of your tour. This is exactly what Jon Bellion experienced on his opening night of "The Glory Sound Prep Tour" at The Met in Philadelphia. The singer-songwriter brought out Lawrence and Marc E. Bassy as support for the tour, and from beginning to end, the night was full of good jams and great sing-alongs.

Opening the night was Lawrence, a brother-sister duo with a killer band. The act had such a feel-good vibe and it was great to hear live sax and trumpet. I enjoyed hearing their cover of "Get Busy" by Sean Paul and how they transformed the song to fit their style. Gracie Lawrence's vocal range is certainly a force to be reckoned with! Hitting the stage next was Marc E. Bassy. The artist had a poppy, hip hop sort of vibe to his music and he made sure to cover each side of the stage as he danced across and performed.

When Jon Bellion hit the stage, the energy in the room amplified. He started the set off by coming out to a stage with almost no lighting, but wore a jacket which lit up. He opened with his track "JT" off of his latest album "Glory Sound Prep", released back in November of 2018. This is Bellion's first tour since 2017 and it allowed fans to finally hear tracks from the latest album. He played songs such as "Conversations With My Wife", "Blu", and "Stupid Deep" off the new album. He also brought Lawrence on stage to join him in performing "The Internet", and had featured a whole solo section for members in the band.

 A stand out for Bellion's live performance is the way he reworked older hits such as "All Time Low" and "Guillotine" for fans. He mentioned during these times that he loves jam bands' abilities to not play by a schedule and that he was going to play however he wanted because he "had no idea how long it could be". I admired seeing Bellion take such full creative control of the set in this way, something that is not seen often in this genre of music. Jon Bellion also boasts such a charismatic and humble personality on stage. When speaking with the audience he really tries to find ways to tell his story and connect, while showing how incredibly grateful he is for the success he has received. When Jon performs, he expresses himself both in the incredible tonality of his voice, as well as his movements.

The first time I saw Jon Bellion was back in 2017 when he opened for Twenty One Pilots. Seeing what he has built his career to now is incredible. The thing that drew me to Bellion's music back when I first saw him was how catchy his melodies were, and how carefree and fun his stage presence was. I was beyond excited to see that all of these things have only gotten better since then! This tour is a must-see for anyone interested in pop, electronic, and hip hop. "The Glory Sound Prep Tour" has plenty of dates left and I definitely urge you to check it out if you can!