I have one thing to say to the Jonas Brothers after watching their “JONAS20: Greetings From Your Hometown” tour: I apologize for being unfamiliar with your game after all these years.
Okay, I lied, I have multiple things to say. So, let’s get into them.
Like probably many others, I have only listened to the Jonas Brothers — the pop rock boy band of Nick, Joe and Kevin — fleetingly. An occasional “Burning Up” here, a “Sucker” there. Not enough that I would consider myself a hardcore fan. But when I heard they were coming to Wichita for the first time, I was still excited. I remembered Joe as Shane Gray from “Camp Rock,” Nick as the pilot in the 2017 “Jumanji” movie and Kevin from his TikToks in 2020.
Now, I realize I have been missing out. I have genuinely never had so much fun at a concert — and I’ve seen artists like Tyler, the Creator and Renee Rapp. I still had fun at those events as well, but not as much as I had in Intrust Bank Arena while the Jonas Brothers showed their love for pyrotechnics and fireworks.
I know there’s a warning that celebrities put on acts when they’re in public; you never know who they truly are. But, from what I saw on that stage, it’s obvious the Jonas Brothers love what they are doing and love their fans. I mean, they have been doing this for 20 years now — longer than I’ve been alive.
There was a familial energy throughout the show, through them promoting their new Christmas movie, “A Very Jonas Christmas,” which focuses on family, to showing clips of them as little kids when they first started, to ending the concert with a song they wrote with their father, and telling the concert goers they’re welcomed in the Jonas family.
I’ve also never seen artists connect with their fans more than they did. At one moment, Joe got off the stage to sing with a girl and hug her. He also took a cowboy hat from a different girl during the song “Cake by the Ocean” and wore it for the rest of the song.
It felt like they talked with their fans, not at them. At the beginning of each concert, they have a portion where they read fans’ signs for song requests and fulfill them if they remember them off the top of their head. It was truly magical and heartwarming to see such joy in one area.
And as I lead into the section about their overall performance, I want to extend a special thank you to the diva from Oklahoma in the front row who got one of Nick’s guitar picks. She asked the brothers to play a song called “Walls,” and it truly changed my life.
The vocals were absolutely amazing. Joe had long, sustained notes that filled the arena as sparks shot from cannons in the back. I had literally never heard “Walls” before then, but it’s now in my playlist.
The song “Burning Up” was paired with pyrotechnics, perfectly on beat with the lyrics. The vibes were immaculate during the song “Waffle House,” as everyone on stage jammed out to it and encouraged the crowd to wave their hands and clap.
They also paid homage to the brothers’ solo careers. Nick performed “Jealous,” a personal favorite of mine, dressed in a white suit, spotlighted underneath a bright light. Kevin sang his solo “Changing” alone with his guitar. It was a beautiful moment as the crowd of over 5,000 roared as he finished singing.
However, the Jonas Brothers weren’t the only things “Burning Up” during the concert. The stage, or rather the cannons atop it, were as well.
The Jonas Brothers know how to work a crowd. They brought fire and sparks on an early-December night.
They had fireworks shot off at one point, and fake snow fell from the ceiling as they performed their Christmas songs.
The band and backup vocalists were also on fire. They were dancing along to nearly every song as they belted out perfect harmonies that meshed well with the brothers. The band, which consisted of a trombone, saxophones, a trumpet, guitar and bass roamed along the stage and hyped up the crowd and themselves as the night wore on.
“JONAS20: Greetings From Your Hometown” didn’t disappoint, even from someone who isn’t the biggest fan — although they certainly created one in Intrust Bank Arena as confetti fell and they walked out, arms around each other.
