AJR Takes Charlotte For A Ride

The Maybe Man Tour at Spectrum Center

In celebration of their latest album The Maybe Man, AJR is out on the road bringing their incredibly fun live show to arenas around the country. The indie pop band consists of the three Met brothers, Adam, Jack, and Ryan, known collectively as AJR. The trio began performing on the streets of New York City before releasing their first EP back in 2012. Since then, AJR has grown by leaps and bounds moving from small, intimate clubs to now headlining arenas. They recently made a stop here in the Queen City putting on one hell of a show at Spectrum Center. 

Opening the show was Australian singer-songwriter Dean Lewis. The talented musician first made a splash on the music scene with his 2016 single “Waves” and has no signs of slowing down any time soon. What really put this singer on my radar was his 2022 single “How Do I Say Goodbye,” a song written about Lewis’s father and his cancer diagnosis and guaranteed to put a tear in your eye. 

Taking the stage, acoustic guitar in hand, Lewis took his spot behind the mic and absolutely enchanted the fans at Spectrum Center. His vocals are an oxymoron, soft yet powerful, thundering but poignant. The crowd broke out into cheers during “Waves” and was in the moment for “How Do I Say Goodbye,” perhaps reflecting on their own personal journeys or that of their loved ones. Lewis was a total pleasure to hear perform live and we even got two amazing covers with a little Goo Goo Dolls and Taylor Swift thrown into the setlist. If you have the chance to see Dean Lewis live, don’t sleep on it. 

After a short break, it was time for the main event of the evening, and what an event it was. Kicking things off with the title track from The Maybe Man album, the focus was on what appeared to be Jack in his signature hat with his back to the audience singing. But wait, then a spotlight shone on another Jack and another. It was like playing Where’s Waldo with Jack. But then, you could see from the top of the stage, a figure dangling down, and lo and behold we had Jack make his appearance. He quickly maneuvered down to the stage and he interacted with the crowd, pointing and waving at everyone. 

Adam was situated stage left with his bass guitar in hand and Ryan was stage right behind his keyboard beautifully decorated in what appeared to be Van Gogh’s “Starry NIght” pattern. So, we were probably only a few minutes into the set and it was already fire on every level. The brothers sounded fantastic as did their backing band as the crowd sang and danced along. 

The stage show was an absolute spectacle of epic proportions. We had various risers across the stage, huge LED screens on each side, and a wide array of lighting options throughout the night. But the piece de resistance was a huge upper ring to the stage which would prove to be a very unique showcase for Jack. Behind the apparatus and out of view of the audience there had to be a treadmill and various rigs that Jack utilized to make it look like he was attempting various activities. Sometimes he was walking and at other times he was driving a little red sports car. Heck, at one point during the show, he was flying across the stage. It was such a fun and different way to showcase different songs and a definite highlight of the night. 

But Jack wasn’t the only brother on the move, Ryan could be seen running across the stage, ukulele in hand and Adam was bouncing all over the place. Of course, no AJR show would be complete without a little “Bang!” as lights and lasers lit up the stage amongst plumes of smoke. The fans around me were dancing and singing and having the time of their lives. AJR was pulling out all the stops for this tour and it wasn’t over yet. 

Jack did take a moment early in the show to thank the crowd for being there as he recalled the band’s previous Charlotte performers including their show at The Evening Muse for about 35 people. People cheered and he joked, “No you weren’t there, nobody was.” 

Other highlights of the evening included a heart-touching medley from Ryan as he sang about love during “Turning Out, parts i-iii.” Right after that, we heard Jack’s voice from somewhere out in the arena and as a spotlight shone you could see the band sitting in the seats with the fans all the way across the arena where they performed two songs as fans got selfies of a lifetime. 

This wasn’t just a concert. The Maybe Man Tour was an experience and before sending us home, AJR took us to new heights with “2085.” Fun may be a three-letter word but so is AJR and I’m not an English teacher but you could make the case for synonyms pretty easily. 

The band will be out on the road all summer long. Don’t miss your chance to have fun with AJR! 

See the Full Gallery of the Night Here!

If you captured any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see. 

Tour Dates:

04/24 – Portland, OR @ MODA Center
04/26 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
04/29 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
05/01 – San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena
05/04 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Paycom Center
05/07 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
05/09 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
05/10 – Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
05/12 – Jacksonville, FL@ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
06/25 – Pittsburgh, PA@ PPG Paints Arena
06/27 – Cleveland, OH@ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
06/28 – Columbus, OH@ Nationwide Arena
06/29 – Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena
06/30 – Detroit, MI@ Little Caesars Arena
07/03 – Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena
07/04 – Milwaukee, WI@ American Family Insurance Amphitheater (Summerfest)
07/06 – St Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
07/09 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
07/10 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
07/12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
07/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
07/16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center
07/18 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
07/20 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
07/21 – Omaha, NE @ CHI Health Center
07/23 – Cincinnati, OH @ Heritage Bank Center
07/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
07/26 – New York City, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/27 – New York City, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/30 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
07/31 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
08/02 – Washington, DC @ Capitol One Arena
08/03 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden

https://www.ajrbrothers.com/#

https://www.deanlewismusic.com/