“What year is it? Is it 1999?” Mark McGrath said during their brief but hit-packed set at Blossom Music Center on Friday night (August 01, 2025). McGrath, lead singer of Sugar Ray was speaking to the raucous crowd who showed up for the Sugar Ray and Barenaked Ladies dual headliner show. The bands have currently joined forces for their “Last Summer on Earth” tour, which features a plethora of nostalgia and sing-along songs.
Fellow 90s rockers, Fastball opened the night with a lean, confident set that proved they’re more than just a one-hit wonder from the TRL era. With no time for fluff, the Austin trio dove straight into a tight selection of melodic rock tunes that reminded the crowd why their 1998 “Outta My Head” still holds up. Frontman Tony Scalzo’s voice has aged well, a little weathered in all the right places. Of course, their #1 hit, “The Way,” got the most significant reaction, with hundreds of fans showing they still knew every word. Deeper cuts landed just as well. Pulling double duty on drums for the evening was Sugar Ray’s drummer Dean Butterworth, since Fastball’s normal drummer, Joey Shuffield, is not currently on tour due to a serious medical issue.
From the moment Sugar Ray stepped on stage in their matching white suits, you couldn’t take your eyes off McGrath. He strutted from one side of the stage to the other, spinning around, flipping up his suit jacket; playing to the crowd. His stage banter (and there was plenty of it) was full of self-deprecation in a charming kind of way. He was fully aware of the band’s status as nostalgic icons and was obviously having fun by leaning into it. “I was voted sexiest male singer… in 1997,” he said at one point. It’s that charm and charisma that made it evident how McGrath became a star, even all these years later. Despite not having a hit song in more than two decades, McGrath has stayed relevant as a co-host on Extra and an impressive three-time Rock and Roll Jeopardy champion.
Not including the banter, the band’s set was surprisingly tight, equal parts self-aware and earnest. For anyone who came of age in the 90s, these songs were inescapable. To this day, you can sing some of the lyrics to “Every Morning,” or the band’s #1 hit, “Fly,” which reigned supreme for an entire month in 1997. People of a certain age will always be able to recall the lyrics in their entirety. It’s in our DNA at this point. The songs have not lost their appeal.
Aside from their hits, they played a medley of ’90s songs that included “Pony” by Ginuwine and “Everything About You” by Ugly Kid Joe, giving McGrath a chance to show off his vocal ability, which has held up astonishingly well. He sounded the same as he did in their heyday. Hearing him close with “Fly,” was like being transported back to when it was released, just over 25 years ago. Backing McGrath was the quiet but ever stalwart founding member Rodney Sheppard on guitar, Kristian Attard on bass, and the aforementioned Dean Butterworth, returning for his second set behind the kit.. All members showed up, whether original or newer. The only thing wrong with their set was that it could have been twice as long.
Barenaked Ladies strode on stage in a much more chill manner compared to Sugar Ray, all four in a line, smiling and waving at the crowd, depicting the difference in their sounds well. Their set was, as expected, a mix of witty banter, genre-hopping songs, and lyrics that sounded like they were written during a very smart game of Mad Libs. “Pinch Me,” “If I Had $1000000,” and #1 song “One Week” hit all the sweet spots, especially for fans who never stopped believing that quirky white guys with acoustic guitars could still be cool. Lead singer Ed Robertson joked that a server at a restaurant recently told him he looked like he played harmonica, and that it was a good thing. “No, it is not,” he said, giving the crowd a good laugh.
Backed by fellow long-time members, Jim Creegan on bass, Tyler Stewart on drums, and Kevin Hearn on guitar, the only thing missing from the band’s unwavering lineup was, of course, former co-frontman and founder Steven Page, who (somewhat) amicably left the group in 2009. It’s been nearly as long as he was in the band that he has been out of it, but fans are still hoping for a reunion, as was evident by a homemade shirt in the front row. Robertson made note of the shirt and compared it to a divorce where both parents are happy and getting along with their lives. The band seemed to be doing fine without Page. Still, his unique vocal presence was missed on certain songs like “Brian Wilson.”
The set was packed with covers as well. They played partials or entire songs from all over the genre spectrum, including “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath and “Jump” by Van Halen, which featured some great accordion by Hearn. They did a medley of songs that included some Chappell Roan and Billie Eilish, as well as Kenny Rogers. And they closed the set with Stewart coming out from behind the drums to belt out a glorious rendition of “Back in Black,” with Robertson filling in with some impressive drumming of his own. They encored with what Robertson called the “Canadian National Anthem,” which was “Summer of 69” by Bryan Adams. For this final song, they were joined by members of Fastball and Sugar Ray, including McGrath, who had stayed at the side of the stage for the entire set.
While this was a show packed with nostalgia, it wasn’t just a trip down memory lane. Both Barenaked Ladies and Fastball have released albums in the last two years. The show was merely a celebration of enduring hooks and showmanship. Each band brought its own flavor to the night, proving that its songs still hold up. With a setlist that pulled from every era of their catalogs and the crowd singing along like it was second nature, the show didn’t just coast on nostalgia; it thrived on energy, humor, and an unmistakable love for the craft.
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