If you haven’t heard of GUNNAR before, you need to give him a listen, because he knows how to put on a show.
On October 17, GUNNAR took the stage at Mercury Lounge in NYC for the Upside Down Tour. He has spent the last few years of his career opening for artists such as jxdn, Spencer Sutherland, PRETTYMUCH, Gwen Stefani and Maroon 5. This tour marks his first-ever headlining tour.
From the first song to the last, GUNNAR brought a different kind of energy to the stage that is almost rare to see nowadays. Between every song he was thanking everyone that got him to this point in his career.
“I got all my family here. I got all my friends here. I got my other family (referring to his fans) this is really special.”
Before GUNNAR hit the stage, fans got to enjoy 40 minutes of music from Zoe Ko, who proved she knows exactly how to put on a show. As soon as she walked onto the stage she had such a fiery energy — singing her heart out, dancing while singing, and even getting the fans to sing along. As an opener it is important to get the fans warmed up for the main act, and she definitely did that. The energy after her set never died down.
GUNNAR opened the show with “Art of Staying Alive” which is the first track off of his album SUNFADED. Instantly, the room was filled with everyone singing along to every word. He followed with “Dirty Blonde,” which to no surprise had the crowd singing along like they would last summer when he was on the When The Music Stops Tour with jxdn. He then went into “2AM,” a fan favorite from the album. Hearing this song live easily made everyone love it even more.
After singing those songs, he decided to slow things down. Before doing so, he acknowledged that since he is usually an opener, he never really gets the chance to take things down a notch. This explanation led into him singing “Dead of Night” and “Can’t Get Over You,” both of which had multiple people crying in the audience.
@allyymariiee tears in my eyes the whole song by the way. #gunnar #fyp #nyc #livemusic @itsgunnar
GUNNAR slowed it down even more by taking a seat for the next two songs to express his vocals in a more raw form than the audience had just experienced. After giving a meaningful speech, he sang “You Changed Me.”
He mentioned that as an opener, he always tried to include a cover song. GUNNAR viewed doing a cover song as a way to draw new fans in because it was likely that the crowd would know the song, but now everyone was there for him, so he did something different. Rather than a cover, he performed an unreleased song, written for his fiancé who happened to be in the crowd, titled “None of Them Are You.” It was her first time hearing this song live, as well as the audiences.
The energy was brought back up as he continued with “This is Now,” “Upside Down” and “Again & Again,” which was the song that really proved that GUNNAR has found his sound.
He finished the night with “Bitter” which also just so happened to be the loudest song of the night. The way the crowd, and GUNNAR, expressed their energy for this song was like no other.
Following the show, GUNNAR wanted to meet all of the fans that showed up for him, but due to another show happening at the venue, he wasn’t able to do so at Mercury Lounge. GUNNAR and his team went on to rent out The Flower Shop in NYC for the night where he would be able to hang out with his family, friends and fans.
The whole night it was clear that GUNNAR belongs on stage. He knows how to bring the energy and how to get a crowd going. Make sure to keep an eye on GUNNAR because it is only up from here.
GUNNAR The Upside Down Tour dates:
10.21 – Nashville, TN @ The End
10.25 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake
10.29 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
