By Erica Remboske
Correspondent
Disclaimer: Erica Remboske was provided with free press tickets to attend and review this concert.
Jonah Marais, a 26-year-old singer and songwriter formerly from the boy band Why Don’t We, stopped at The Foundry in Philadelphia on Sept. 7, as a part of his Young & Optimistic tour. The tour is his first time performing since 2022 and his first-ever solo tour.
Why Don’t We was formed in 2016 and consisted of five members: Jack Avery, Jonah Marais, Zach Herron, Corbyn Besson and Daniel Seavey. The band broke up in 2022 due to a legal battle with their management. According to Rolling Stone Magazine, the band sued their manager because they felt as if he was abusing them financially, mentally and emotionally.
The concert started with two openers, Candice Lee and lazyacres.
Lee performed a few songs, including “Permission” and “How Can I,” and some unreleased tracks. Lee is a micro artist from Philadelphia who started releasing music in 2019. Her performance was more laid back and calming, but few in the crowd knew the songs.
Lazyacres is a smaller local band in Philadelphia and New Jersey. They performed multiple songs, including unreleased tracks “In Due Time” and “Catching Waves.” They also performed some new releases, “Aloe” and “Clay,” which were both released in 2023.
Lazyacres brought an alternative vibe to the stage and the crowd was hyped up. Even though many people did not know their music, the crowd was enjoying the show. This is a band that someone would want to see again and listen to constantly. The band was not only hype, but they were also really relaxing.
Marais finally came out from backstage, opening with “TWISTED LULLABY.” He then sang some of his newer songs off of his newer album, “The Jonah Marais Mixtape.” Those songs were “REDLIGHT” and “Miracle Fruit.” He also covered “Fast Car,” originally sung by Tracy Chapman in 1988.
Marais also performed an older song, “War Paint,” where a few of his fans got emotional. He sang some songs that were from when he was in Why Don’t We, which added to the sentimental vibe of the concert.
For Marais’ song “HEAVEN,” Lee brought her harp up on the stage to join the performance. This added emotion to the song as it added more majestic vibes to it. He then sang a few of his newer songs and another unreleased song.
Once Marais left the stage after performing, the entire audience immediately started to scream for an encore. He returned to the stage and sang “Slow Motion,” an unreleased song.
The concert was relaxing and had a welcoming and friendly atmosphere. Marais even took the time after the show to hang out and meet fans, including general admission ticket holders.
Overall, the entire concert, including the openers, was really enjoyable. No matter what type of music you like, you would have had fun at the concert. I wish I could see all of the artists again but with a longer set for each one, especially since each opener only got about 30 minutes each. Though it felt rushed, it was so fun.
