There was a glimpse of Paradise Fest at Paradise Rock Club this past weekend in Boston! Fans attending either of Briston Maroney’s sold out Boston shows at Paradise Rock Club may have been reminded of a similarly named music festival. The Paradise Music Festival, hosted by Maroney for the last two years at the Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville, TN, clearly has its influence on Maroney’s latest tour. The stage design, which included rainbow jellyfish and googly eyes, was taken almost directly from Maroney’s set at the festival – whose most recent lineup boasted names like Samia, Hovvdy, Olivia Barton, and Charlie Burg.
The Ultrapure tour is in support of the indie singer’s latest album of the same name. With support from Australian pop singer-songwriter Phoebe Go, fans were in for two absolutely wonderful nights. Go took to the stage first to perform an acoustic set of her original songs. Although it was just her and her guitar, she captivated the audience with her delicate but powerful voice and meaningful lyrics.
Right at 9pm it was time for Briston Maroney to take the stage. He opened up with “Body” off of Ultrapure before going song after song into “Small Talk,” “Detonator,” and “Fools Gold.” Although a bit difficult to see at times at the back of what I think is the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen at the Paradise Rock Club, Maroney’s stage presence was absolutely incredible, and whoever his lighting designer was did an amazing job creating a bright and colorful set that was easy to see even from the very back (and very enjoyable to take photos of).
Maroney continued on with songs from many of his albums, including “Under My Skin” off of the 2018 release Carnival, “Paradise” off of Paradise released in 2022 (with Maroney noting that this was a particularly special one to play considering the venue), and “Sinkin’” off of the 2021 release Sunflower. There was no shortage of guitar solos and upbeat music to keep fans dancing for the 1.5 hour set.
The North American leg of the Ultrapure tour has pretty much just begun, with over 25 shows and a few festivals remaining to play in the US and Canada. You can find tickets to these upcoming dates here.
