FINNEAS • The Bad Suns • March 2, 2025 • The Union
Reviewed by Josilyn Wakkury Lybbert
Photographed by Vanessa Holt, courtesy of Live Nation
FINNEAS made a sold-out, highly anticipated stop on his For Cryin’ Out Loud Tour in Salt Lake City on March 2, 2025! He drew in multitudes for his show at The Union Event Center! I’ve battled for parking at concerts before, but never like I did for FINNEAS’ show! While that can pose some obstacles, I’ve found that that demand always indicates that we’re in for an incredible show! And spoiler – were we ever!
I’ve been aware of FINNEAS for years. As the musical extraordinaire he is at his sister Billie Eilish’s side and as a solo artist. I wasn’t very familiar with his music until earlier in the week leading up to the show. It didn’t take long until I was wishing that I had started listening to him sooner!
The Bad Suns
The Bad Suns opened for FINNEAS. I was so sad that I missed the majority of their set. But it was apparent that they absolutely got the party started! The crowd was jumping, dancing, and enthusiastically supportive of the band! I hope to catch them the next time they come through town!
FINNEAS
Without the need of a production or an introduction, the lights fell & FINNEAS simply walked on the stage and met with an eruption of screams, gave a friendly wave, and took a seat at the piano. The show started off with, a beautifully heartache filled ballad, “Starfucker.” FINNEAS was captivating from the first note. Don’t get me wrong – FINNEAS’ recorded music is amazing, but his live voice was absolutely stunning! The crowd paid no mind to the mellow vibe of that first song – they didn’t sing along, they screamed those lyrics!
Switching to guitar for “Lotus Eater,” FINNEAS asked, “You want to dance Salt Lake City?” Their cheers indicated that they did, and their actions followed suit with dancing and clapping along to the beat! It was a fun, upbeat song! The fans were loving it, and it was cool to see that the band members were too! They grooved right along with the music they were playing!
Especially shrill screaming started when “Cleats” began to play. After the song ended, FINNEAS said, “I kind of had a feeling that that song would go off in Salt Lake!” in response to the unwavering enthusiasm during that one!
The variation of light displays that were unique to each song added to the show! For more mellow songs when FINNEAS was seated at the piano, there would be a spotlight on him while the rest of the stage had more of a muted glow or was otherwise completely dark. During more upbeat songs, the stage would be illuminated by blue, green, or pink, sometimes even multiple colors at once!
FINNEAS was quite the charismatic performer! Effortlessly cool, he’d make his way back and forth across the stage, interacting with fans, which, of course, they loved. During “Sweet Cherries,” he even humored the crowd by putting on a pink light-up cowboy hat!
After a few songs, FINNEAS shared that he grew up frequently visiting his aunt, uncle, and cousins that live in Salt Lake City, which created a lot of good memories in the area for him! He also expressed his appreciation for whether he’s been in Salt Lake with his sister or on his own, “Salt Lake shows up and shows out!” It’s always exciting when an artist has a personal connection to the city, and it’s even better when they recognize how great the SLC fans are!
Cell phone lights illuminated the venue as FINNEAS sang the sweet sounding, pensive song, “Little Window.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen a room light up the way it did then! It was almost like the ceiling lights were turned on because it was so bright!
After “Little Window”, he took some time to read signs that people brought. One said, “bob off,” to which he responded, “You have a better bob than I do! Yours is more symmetrical, more like Gracie Abram’s!” Then FINNEAS noted that a guy in the front looked just like singer Benson Boone. He joked, “Put a unitard on this man, stick him on top of my piano, do a back flip off of it – he’ll break both of his legs, but he’ll look like Benson Boone,” referencing Boone’s performance at The Grammys this year! One lucky fan’s sign caught his eye, and he had the whole crowd sing Happy Birthday to her. It was a fun, very interactive portion of the show!
“Only A Lifetime” really struck some emotional cords with people throughout the crowd, myself included. The song touches on the realization of mortality and figuring life out. I noticed mothers holding onto their teen daughters and a father snapping a sweet picture with his young daughter as FINNEAS beautifully sang the lyrics, “Don’t waste the time you have waiting for time to pass, it’s only a lifetime, that’s not long enough.”
In 2021, FINNEAS and Ashe released what would become a wildly popular song, with 386 million streams to date on Spotify, “Till Forever Falls Apart.” His pianist, Lucy Healey, sang the first few lines in lieu of Ashe, and he finished it out with a powerful rendition of the song! Again, his vocals were incredible!
The lights dimmed again for “Family Feud,” a song that he wrote and dedicated to his little sister. The song works through all too relatable and often unspoken differences that appear due to growing up; the childhood family pet has passed away, the kids of the family are now adults, etc. It also expresses his admiration for his sister and all she does while the world has its eyes on her, while they still share the bond they’ve always had, even though life looks so different. It’s both a heartwarming and heart-wrenching tune! The crowd listened in awe and maybe also found similarities to their own lives while they took it in.
Soon, it was already the end of the show! The night ended with what I’d deemed my favorite from my pre-show listening and his most recent album and the tour’s namesake, “For Cryin’ Out Loud.” It’s such a fun song, and if the concert had to end, it was the perfect way to do so with such an upbeat tune!
I was completely blown away by FINNEAS’ stop here in Utah. He sounds amazing on his recorded music, but he is especially phenomenal live! The combination of all of his musical talents and a wonderful, skilled band who seemed to enjoy the show as much as the fans did made for a great night! It was a privilege to get to spend my evening witnessing Salt Lake City’s For Cryin’ Out Loud Tour concert!