X Ambassadors played the House of Blues in Cleveland on Sunday, May 26, as part of their tour support their April 2024 release, ‘Townie.’ The band kicked off the night with a platinum-certified hit,“Renegade. This song is an oldie but a goodie! It appeared on their 2015 debut, ‘VHS’, and is their second biggest hit to date.
From the moment they came out, the crowd was screaming and dancing. It wasn’t a sold-out show, but the fans who were in attendance carried the weight of singing and screaming that may have otherwise been absent to the slightly less attended gig. The silver lining is that when House of Blues is sold out, it is SOLD OUT. (Somebody should really call the Fire Marshall!) It was nice to have a little bit of breathing room.
Formed in 2009, the Ithica, NY natives comprises two brothers, frontman Sam Harris and ivory tickler Casey Harris, alongside Adam Levin (never once confused for Adam Levine) on drums and touring member Russ Flynn on guitar and bass. X Ambassadors got their major break when they were “discovered” by Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds, who linked them with famed record producer Alex da Kid. Later, X Ambassadors went from working with a major producer to becoming one themselves! The band is credited with producing Lizzo’s s “Cuz I Love You,” “Jerome,” and “Heaven Help Me.”
The setlist was heavy on tunes from ‘Townie,’ including my favorite song of the night, “Follow the Sound of My Voice,” which is a song about lead singer Sam Harris’ brother/bandmate Casey Harris. Casey is visually impaired, and this song is about the lead singer Sam’s experience growing up with his brother being blind. It’s an incredibly touching song and shows how much love they have for each other. Before playing the tune, Sam told a story about when he played this song for Casey for the first time; he said he was extremely nervous to be showing his brother this incredibly personal song and then asking to put it on their album. He said after Casey heard the song for the first time, all he said was, “That’s pretty cool.” Sam said it had taught him an important lesson about not taking everything too seriously.
To finish out the night, X Ambassadors played one of the most anticipated songs, “Unsteady.” When that song was over, fans were not ready to leave. Everyone screamed and asked for an encore for a solid five minutes. To our complete joy, they came out for an encore, where they played “BOOM” and “Jungle.” Everyone sang and danced as if the world was ending tomorrow. When fans poured out of the venue, chatter could be heard all around about what a great show it was.
I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the incredible openers as well. The night started with an up-and-coming pop artist, 18-year-old Rowan Drake. Although he only played five songs, the audience started to enjoy his music and can’t wait to see where he goes.
The second opener, New West, really got the crowd going! They were fun and upbeat and had so much energy that one couldn’t help but be excited while listening to their set. Their most anticipated song was “Those Eyes,” which has been a favorite song of this reviewer for a while. I can’t wait to see a headlining set from this act!
Without a doubt, this night was worth the hype. From the moment it started till the sad moment it ended, Everyone was on their feet and enjoying.
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