It was was Christmas in Texas last night at iHeartRadio’s massive annual Jingle Ball Tour returned to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for an unforgettable night of live music at the Dickies Arena. As the crowd got to unwrap gifts from major music artists, new and old across all different genres, including Jack Harlow, the Black Eyed Peas, Lauv, Khalid and many more, the Jingle Ball is as amazing and festive as ever.
Jack Harlow Keeps Us Laughing
“First Class” rapper Jack Harlow had his hits and personality on full display Monday night. Between Harlow’s performances from his first two albums, as well as his massive Lil Nas X collab “Industry Baby”, the Louisville native kept us laughing with his between song banter. “Two white rappers in a row, that’s a bold move,” Harlow joked after following Macklemore. Harlow is impossible to not root for.
Pitbull Closes Out with the Hits
Monday night’s stacked lineup ended with the most seasoned veteran on the whole bill, Mr. Worldwide himself, Pitbull. Delivering a 7-track set to put the cherry on top of a memorable night, Pitbull only brought the hits to the Allstate Arena. Starting with “Don’t Stop the Party” and finishing with “Give Me Everything”, Mr. 305 was easily a highlight in the 847.
Jax Finds a New Job
Jax is just a few performances into her career but its evident that she will be around for quite sometime as a performer. However she decided to pick up a second job as an arena security guard, as the “Victoria’s Secret” artist sported an arena staff members jacket during her performance. She blamed the wardrobe choice on a malfunction, but we are convinced that she just couldn’t resist making the joke during her opening set on Monday.
Khalid Spreads Positive Vibes
Khalid was nothing but smiles during his Allstate Arena performance for the Jingle Ball crowd. Khalid and his dancers kept us entertained throughout his 5-song set, with standout tracks like “Location”, “Talk”, “Better”, “lovely” and his Halsey collab, “Eastside”.
Macklemore Shines
Amongst an unbeatable lineup of musicians, one performer stood out the most, that being “Thrift Shop” rapper Macklemore. The Washington native was unstoppable on Monday and delivered an unmatched among of energy the reminded us of how great his live performances are. Macklemore challenged the sold-out arena to make sure that when he talked to his daughter following the Jingle Ball tour, Chicago would be the city that he told her was the most live. Chicago called Macklemore’s bluff and matched his energy from start to finish.
It was was Christmas in Texas last night at iHeartRadio’s massive annual Jingle Ball Tour returned to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for an unforgettable night of live music at the Dickies Arena. As the crowd got to unwrap gifts from major music artists, new and old across all different genres, including Jack Harlow, the Black Eyed Peas, Lauv, Khalid and many more, the Jingle Ball is as amazing and festive as ever.
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
First up for the night was Atlantic Records recording artist, Jax. One of the many talented artists to emerge into stardom during the quarantine, Jax already has a successful pop record on her résumé but is still a stranger to the big stage. “Oh my god, I’m in an arena,” Jax told fans before kicking off her set. Opening with her nostalgic track “90s Kids”, Jax kept fans singing and laughing with her buff Santa costume throughout her 3-song performance. The New York native closed her set with her biggest record to date, “Victoria’s Secret”, before saying goodbye to her fans and incriminating herself, sharing her plans to sneak into the dressing rooms of some of her favorite musicians who would hit the stage moments later.
Next up was Lauren Spencer-Smith, an American Idol alum who has already surpassed her 18th season peers. The Canadian singer-songwriter performed a few tracks from her growing career, including her single “Narcissist”, which Spencer-Smith foreshadowed in the set by pointing out a fan in the crowd wearing the singles’ merch. Last but not least she ended her set with her breakout single, “Fingers Crossed”, the song that changed her life, which Spencer-Smith credits to its success on iHeartRadio.
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Following the two newcomers that rewarded fans for finding their seats on time, it was time for a Jingle Ball alum to return to the stage. Opening with her 2020 hit single, “King & Queens” the artistic and talented Ava Max hit the stage. Max was a woman of few words on Tuesday night, making time for her growing catalog of hits like “Sweet But Psycho”, “Weapons” and of course her Tiesto-assisted track, “The Motto”. The 6-song performance wasn’t without issue, as Max was noticeably adjusting her monitor during the set, but she handled it like a pro and sounded perfect dispute any sound issues that she was experiencing behind the mic.
After Ava Max crushed it, it was time for another newcomer, 23-year-old Nicky Youre who gave fans a little bit of everything. Not only did he close things out with his breakout single “Sunroof”, which has been heard by everyone with a TikTok account, but Youre also performed a lesser known single, a Neon Trees cover and even an unreleased track, “Weatherman”, which he told fans they’ll be able to hear soon if Tuesday night’s crowd liked it enough.
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
The arena heard the loudest screams of the night perhaps when it was announced that Lewis Capaldi was up next. Making the journey from Scotland to Texas, Capaldi reminded us of his pipes and vocals throughout his set. When he wasn’t making us tear up with love songs like “Before You Go” and “Someone You Loved” he did a 180 making us crack up (no pun intended), talking about the big sh*ts (his words) that he has had to take due to the Texas BBQ that he has consumed since touching down in Dallas. Although he had a comedy bit about his chaffed buttcheeks practically as long as Jax’s set, he still delivered a number of our favorite songs.
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Moments later, another man who is no stranger to the Jingle Ball, Khalid, hit the stage to perform a collection of his biggest hits. Opening his set with his 2017 single “Young Dumb & Broke”, the RCA singer then followed things up with his Grammy nominated “Talk” and his Marshmello produced “Numb”, although the crowd could certainly feel every word. Although he performed 7 tracks, everyone was a hit, a trend that would continue throughout the night with the headlining acts.
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Delivering a dose of rap to the Jingle lineup on opening night was Jack Harlow. Harlow had just landed in Dallas from his homestate of Kentucky an hour before his set and he certainly hit the ground running with tracks like “Tyler Herro”, “I Wanna See Some Ass”, “Already Best Friends” and his massive Lil Nas X collab, “Industry Baby”. Next Harlow had the crowd rapping along with his breakout hit “What’s Poppin”, one of the highlights of the night. Despite the all ages crowd, Jack Harlow was unapologetically himself, but then again he wasn’t talking about his bowel movement like Lewis Capaldi so who would even complain about him wanting to see some ass? Harlow’s performance was evidence of why the Jingle Ball’s diversity across genres makes its such a “First Class” event.
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Although Jack Harlow is a tough act to follow, singer Lauv was up for the challenge for the second to last performance of the night. Opening with his 2021 single “All 4 Nothing”, Lauv instantly had the crowd dancing to his top songs. With a setlist that included tracks like his Troye Sivan-assisted “i’m so tired…”, “Modern loneliness” and “f*ck, I’m lonely”, Lauv may be tired and lonely in his music but he had a packed arena of screaming fans on Tuesday night. Putting a cherry on top of his set, the San Francisco native said goodbye to Fort Worth with his breakout 2018 single “I Like Me Better”.
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Last but certainly not least, the Black Eyed Peas performed a huge career spanning set that touched everything in their couple decades of hits but also left the crowd wanting more. The remaining energy Dallas had left was spent dancing and singer to huge hits like “Boom Boom Pow”, “Let’s Get It Started” and “Pump It Louder” to name a few. Jack Harlow wasn’t the only artist on the bill with ties to Fergie, but even without their legendary female vocalist, the will.i.am-led Black Eyes Peas are still a must see act. iHeartRadio couldn’t have picked a better group to end the night with for the first date of 2022’s Jingle Ball Tour.
Christmas comes early whenever iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball Tour comes to town. Making it’s first stop at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX, everyone’s favorite holiday concert is again bringing the biggest names in music to a city near you. Kicking things off for the Dallas Jingle Ball this year are names like Jack Harlow, the Black Eyed Peas, Khalid, Ava Max, Lauv and more!
So with so many talented performs sharing the stage, there are of course several songs that we need to hear before the night is over. From Jack Harlow’s big hits from the past two years to the Black Eyed Peas catalog of bangers from the last two decades, check out our set-list wish-list for Tuesday night’s concert.
Here’s our list of the 7 songs that we need to hear at Dallas’ iHeartRadio Jingle Ball this week:
Just a month ago Demi Lovato was forced to postpone her October performance at the Rosemont Theatre a few short hours before showtime after the singer woke up with no voice. “I’m so sorry but it breaks my heart to tell you I have to reschedule the show,” wrote Lovato wrote to fans on Instagram. And while the sudden update was heartbreaking to her loyal Chicago fans, Lovato made up for the postponement and then some on Thursday night.
Now treated to the closing night on her headlining “Holy Fvck Tour”, fans at the Rosemont Theatre enjoyed performances from Lovato’s brand new rock album, which debuted a totally new sound from the former Disney star, as well as spins on some of her classic pop songs from throughout her career.
After delivering a few standouts from her new album, “Holy Fvck”, Lovato quickly took time to thank her fans and address the delay:
“First off, I just want to say, thank you so much for coming tonight,” Lovato told fans. “It’s no secret that I was supposed to play here back in October, and I got really really sick, I had no voice and I had to postpone the show, but you guys are here tonight and I promise I’m going to make it up to you guys.”
Although she owed no one an apology for losing her voice for performing with such energy from night to night, Lovato closer her apology by foreshadowing the rest of the evening, “Its the last night of the tour and I’m ending it here with you guys. Are ya’ll ready to have a f*cking good time tonight?”
Lovato delivered on that promise, getting the momentum for the rest of the night started with a familiar tune, a more rock-infused rendition of Demi’s massive hit “Confident”. Although Lovato’s new style and sound is very far removed from her 2015 album and especially her earliest projects, it’s great to see some of her hits still make their way into the setlist.
Next up Demi performed a couple fan favorites from the late 2000s, an unexpected Ashlee Simpson cover and her unapologetic anthem, “Sorry Not Sorry”. The remainder of her career spanning set was full of new tracks and spins on the old, a model which she perfected until the concert’s final moments.
Ending the evening on a high note, Demi finished with her new biggest track, her album’s lead single “Skin Of My Teeth” and perhaps her biggest pop single to date, “Cool For The Summer”, putting a big cherry on top of what was already a night that her Chicago fans will not forget.
Despite the original postponement, Demi more than made up for the new date with her Thursday night performance and now her Chicago fans will have less time to wait before she returns to the Windy City.
Marcus Mumford performs for a sold out crowd at The Sylvee in Madison, WI (Photo by Dan Garcia).
Just over a month into his first solo headlining tour, Mumford & Sons’ Marcus Mumford paid a visit to The Sylvee in Madison, WI. Returning to Wisconsin’s capital for the first time since 2019, after Mumford & Sons performed for a packed crowd at the Kohl Center, the newly solo Marcus Mumford performed cuts from his new solo release, Self-Titled.
Opening with his Mumford & Sons tracks, “I Will Wait”, “Awake My Soul” and “The Cave”, all from the band’s first two LPs, Marcus eased the crowd into his new project with familiar classics before performing his critically acclaimed solo debut in its entirety. Delivering the entire album from start to finish, fans throughout the sold-out crowd were as familiar with the new tracks as they were his biggest hits as the Mumford & Sons frontman.
But show wasn’t over following the completion of Mumford’s solo catalog, as he put on an encore performance of covers that was worth the price of admission. The final act of Mumford’s set included a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Not Dark Yet” and two tracks from his Jim James, Elvis Costello, Taylor Goldsmith and Rhiannon Giddens supergroup, The New Basement Tapes. The only disappoint of the encore and show was the omission of Mumford’s rendition of Taylor Swift’s “cowboy like me”, which had been performed throughout the tour but not Friday night, which just so happened to be the release date of Swift’s new album “Midnights”.
Marcus Mumford is no stranger to a big stage, but his solo career is quickly paying off as he is releasing some of his best music to date and he still knows how to rock a crowd. But just because he went solo, Mumford will be the first to tell you that he owes his solo success to the talented cast of musicians that he surrounds himself with. However, even if it’s just Marcus Mumford and a guitar on stage, you can guarantee yourself a great performance.
Check out our photos from Marcus Mumford’s Friday night performance at The Sylvee below.
Summer is over but live music in Chicago lives on! Tours are trading festival dates and outdoor performances for arenas and theaters and October is as good of a month as any to catch a concert in the Windy City. From Lizzo to Demi Lovato and many more, there is something for everyone this month.
Check out our list of the 6 can’t miss concerts in Chicago in October!
Conan Gray performs at Chicago’s Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 (Photo by Dan Garcia).
Singer Conan Gray is currently in the middle of the biggest tour of his career, and on Wednesday night he performed for his biggest crowd yet at the Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island in Chicago.
Despite the relatively cold temperatures at Chicago’s lakefront outdoor venue, thousands of fans filled the venue for Gray’s return to the Windy City. Less than a year removed from Conan’s performance at the Aragon Ballroom, Wednesday night was evidence of the “Maniac” singers exponential growth in the past couple years.
Dubbed the “Superache” Tour, titled after his 2022 sophomore album, Gray kicked things off with the LP’s upbeat track “Disaster”, a word that certainly wouldn’t describe Wednesday nights performance as things went off without a hitch. Fans sang along from start to finish, whether they were supplying backup vocals for a B-side or if it was one of his biggest Top 40 singles like “Heather” or “Maniac”.
Throughout the evening Gray’s personality was on display as much as his impressive vocals and addictive songs. The Texas native, who is a couple weeks away from a huge festival performance at Austin City Limits, joked with his fans between tracks and expressed his gratitude for the packed crowd.
Gray delivered several performances from his 2020 and 2022 studio albums, closing out the night with his hits “Heather” and “Maniac” before a memorable encore performance of his Superache single “Memories”, a fitting song to close out a night that his fans won’t soon forget.
Check out our photos from Conan Gray’s Wednesday night performance below.
Avril Lavigne performs at the iHeartRadio Festival Daytime Stage on September 24, 2022 (Photo by Dan Garcia).
All good things must come to an end and thus this year’s iHeartRadio Music Festival came to a close on Saturday night after not one but three epic events blew fans away in Sin City over the weekend. And perhaps the best show of all three, Saturday nights performance at the T-Mobile arena welcome performances from superstars like Halsey, Luke Combs, Megan Thee Stallion and many more, putting an exclamation mark on an unforgettable weekend.
Check out our favorite performances from Night 2 of the stacked iHeartRadio Music Festival:
Halsey empowers crowd with “I am Not a Woman, I’m a God”
Halsey performs at Summerfest 2022 in Milwaukee, WI (Photo by Dan Garcia).
Halsey always delivers for her iHeartRadio fans and Saturday night’s set was no exception. Although she brought the hits like “Bad at Love” and “Without Me”, it was her awesome performance of “I am Not a Woman, I’m a God” that stood out the most.
Luke Combs closes set with “Beer Never Broke My Heart”
Luke Combs is the biggest name in country music right now. Not only is he touring the country at some of the biggest arenas, the “Beer Never Broke My Heart” singer has now hit stadium status and is performing at stadiums across the country in 2023, Combs gave a preview of what fans can expect for his tour with his iHeartRadio Festival performance of his mega hit.
Maren Morris duets with Hubby for “I Can’t Love You Anymore”
Maren Morris performs at the BMO Harris Pavilion in Milwaukee, WI on August 13, 2022 (Photo by Dan Garcia).
Maren Morris is a crossover queen with some of her addictive singles. Although she is certainly a country girl at heart, the “My Church” singer casts a wide net and has fans who favorite all sorts of genres. Morris surprised her Vegas fans on Saturday night when she brought out her husband, Ryan Hurd, for a duet of “I Can’t Love You Anymore”, just hours after he crushed it for the festivals Daytime Village.
Avril Lavigne Gets the Punk Kids Nostalgic with “Sk8er Boi”
It wasn’t just a phase, mom! Avril Lavigne took us back to a better time as she got fans nostalgic with her hit single, “Sk8er Boi”, one of the greatest pop punk classics of all time. Lavigne wasn’t only a highlight of Saturday night’s lineup but also at the Daytime Village earlier in the afternoon.
LL Cool J Closes 9-song set with “Mama Said Knock You Out”
LL Cool J performs at Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL on August 4, 2018 (Photo by Dan Garcia).
LL Cool J brought some old school hip-hop to Las Vegas with his iHeartRadio Festival performance. The rapper had one of the longer sets of the night and he ended his set with a classic, his record “Mama Said Knock You Out”.
Marcus Mumford Delivers Live Debut of “Better Off High”
Marcus Mumford is taking a small break from being the lead of Mumford & Sons and is hitting the road as a solo artist in support of his new solo LP. Mumford performed one of his first solo shows for the Las Vegas crowd on Saturday night, and treated fans to a live debut of his track “Better Off High”.
Megan Thee Stallion Brings Some “Thot S*** to the Sin City
Megan The Stallion performs at the 2021 Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, TX (Photo by Dan Garcia).
Megan Thee Stallion was twerking all night for the packed crowd at the T-Mobile arena, and of her many hits from the past couple years, she certainly won us over with her performance of “Thot S***”, one of the standouts from her 2021 album, Something for Thee Hotties.
Diddy Delivers Emotional Tribute to Biggie with “I’ll Be Missing You”
Diddy got us all tearing up during his career-spanning performance. The moment came as he paid tribute to the late-great Notorious B.I.G. when Diddy performed his 1997 single “I’ll Be Missing You”, certainly the biggest tear-jerker of the entire festival.
Big Time Rush headlined the Daytime State for the iHeartRadio Music Festival on Saturday, September 24, 2022 (Photo by Dan Garcia).
Following an epic night of music at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile for night one of the annual iHeartRadio Festival, fans set their alarms to make it to Area 15 for the festival’s Daytime Stage. Boasting performances from veterans like Avril Lavigne, Big Time Rush and 5 Seconds of Summer, as well as some of music best emerging names across all genres like Chloe, Gayle and Girl In Red, the Daytime Stage had something for everyone.
With such an amazing lineup of musicians all in one afternoon, we had to check out the action first hand and capture some of our favorite moments from the outdoor festival. From Avril Lavigne’s performance of “Sk8er Boi” to 5SoS rocking out to their new single “Complete Mess”, the highlights from Saturday were endless.
Check out our photos from the iHeartRadio Festival’s Daytime Stage below!
Lionel Richie brings the Hello Tour to the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL on June 11, 2019.
Last night the always star-studded iHeartRadio Music Festival returned to Las Vegas’ T-Mobile arena for a packed evening of performances from the top names in music across all genres and several decades. Kicking things off for the festival’s 2022 lineup, names like Morgan, Wallen, the Black Eyed Peas, Diplo, Sam Smith, Lionel Richie and many more all graced the stage.
Up first for the evening, none other than Mr. Worldwide, Pitbull, helped fans feel the moment with some of his biggest hits like “Don’t Stop the Party”, “Timber”, “Give Me Everything” and more. A late add to the 2022 lineup, Pitbull was a great bonus for the Las Vegas crowd and was a perfect selection to kick things off, although creating a tough act to follow for the rest of the night’s performers.
Next up, Sam Smith blessed the stage and gave fans the perfect blend of the new and the old. Not only did Smith perform some of his biggest early hits like “Latch” and “Stay With Me”, but he delivered a very special performance of his brand new single “Unholy”. Fans not only were treated to the first live performance of the new single, but Smith also brought out the song’s collaborator, Kim Petras, for a unforgettable surprise. Don’t be surprised if their new track becomes one of the hottest songs of the end of 2022.
Following Smith’s 6-track performance, a music icon, Lionel Richie, danced on the ceiling to perform of career spanning set with some of his classics. Just because Richie has been sitting in the judges seat lately, doesn’t mean that he forgot how to perform himself, as the 73-year-old singer still can work a crowd.
Switching up genres for a moment, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney’s The Black Keys gave a big dose of rock to the T-Mobile arena. Although the duo doesn’t perhaps share a huge fanbase with some of the other festival performers, they won the crowd over with their music either way. Continuing to deliver for the older half of the crowd on Friday night, Pat Benatar and husband Neil Giraldo took fans back to the ’80s with classics like “Love is a Battlefield” and an awesome mashup of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” with Benatar’s 1979 single “Heartbreaker”.
Taking things forward a couple decades, the Black Eyed Peas returned to the iHeartRadio stage and reminded fans of the countless number of hits that they have in their back pocket. Without enough time to even perform full versions of their hits, BEP delivered energetic performances of songs like “Let’s Get It Started”, “Where Is the Love?”, “I Gotta Feeling”, “Pump It” and “Boom Boom Pow”. No Fergie, no problem. The Black Eyed Peas will always get a crowd on their feet.
Next up, it was time to bring a little bit of country to the Sin City as country music’s biggest emerging star, Morgan Wallen, was the headlining singer for the night full of music legends. While certainly a country superstar, Wallen’s music casts a wide net and his performances of songs like “You Proof” and “Whisky Glasses” were a perfect fit for the evening.
But what would a iHeartRadio Music Festival be without one of the world’s top DJs? And for that reason, Diplo had to close things out with his mixes of some of the biggest tracks today.
Finally, to close things out with one final surprise, Diplo welcomed back Morgan Wallen to the stage as the two performed their 2020 collab “Heartless” live for the Las Vegas crowd as a final goodbye to the epic night (until the festival runs things back tomorrow of course).
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