Boys Like Girls • iDKHOW! • Arrows in Action • March 20, 2026 • The Union Events Center
Reviewed and Photographed by Josilyn Wakkuri Lybbert
On March 20, 2026, Boys Like Girls, joined by Arrows in Action and I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, kicked off their “The Soundtrack of Your Life Tour” in Salt Lake City at The Union Event Center. On what was likely the warmest day of the year so far, fans poured into The Union giddy with excitement for the show. Between the sunshine, energy, and the anticipation of good music ahead, it almost felt like summer!
This was my third time seeing Boys Like Girls in the last six months! While I grew up listening to their hits growing up, I had never done a deep dive into their music until recently! I thoroughly enjoyed their open set both times I saw them with the Jonas Brothers, and my husband has said they’re one his favorite artists to see live after also seeing them with the Jonas Brothers and at the When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas last fall. Needless to say, we were excited to see what a headlining show would entail when my parents surprised us with tickets for my husband’s birthday! I was even more excited when I learned I’d get to cover the event too!
Arrows in Action
I was sad to only catch the tail end of Arrows in Action’s set, but it was clear that they were doing their job well – entertaining and hyping up the crowd! They had them jumping and dancing already while the night was still so young!
iDKHOW!
After a quick break in the music, it was time for iDKHOW! I had heard of them before, but wasn’t familiar with their music. Little did I know, I was it for a treat! From the first note, I wondered where the band was from – I felt like they sounded like a new wave, indie pop version of the Beatles or Paul McCartney’s solo career, so I thought they could possibly be from England. You could imagine my surprise when I heard them say, “Hello Salt Lake, we’re from here, where you live!”
The band moved all over the stage, interacting with each other and the crowd, too! There were some pretty excited iDKHOW fans in attendance. They were easy to spot as they donned the band’s merch or enthusiastically sang every word! Diehard fan or not, the whole room was enthralled with this set!
iDKHOW played through songs like “SPKOTHDVL,” “New Invention,” “GLOOMTOWN BRATS,” and “Choke.” During “Social Climb,” fans provided some great crowd participation, singing certain backing vocal pieces while doing a lot of dancing at the same time!
The ban again touched on how nice it was to be from Utah and followed the sentiments with saying, “Hello, neighbors!” That led into their last song, “Razzamatazz.” They had a pretty rocking jam session to wrap everything up! It was an iconic way to end a set!
Boy Like Girls
While the stage was getting prepared for Boys Like Girls, fun songs played and it seemed like everyone at least knew the chorus to each one and yelled it out. Another very popular time filler was the Macarena, which was then filled with the crowd cheering, “Boys Like Girls,” over and over. Needless to say, people were hyped!
The stage was filled with TVs that backed the entire band, which set a cool scene. A smoke machine made everything hazy as each band member took the stage one by one. It’s been a while since I’ve seen fans so beside themselves with joy to see an artist! From little kids to teens to millennials and beyond, the energy in the room skyrocketed, and it was one of those instances where I was grateful to see that good music has no bounds when it comes to age!
The tour is set up to honor two BLG albums, Boys Like Girls (celebrating its 20th anniversary) and Love Drunk (celebrating its 17th anniversary), and the plan was to perform them both from top to bottom. They started with Love Drunk, which led them to open with “Heart Heart Heartbreak,” and was followed by one of my favorites and arguably one of their biggest hits, “Love Drunk.” It was a really fun experience to not only photograph the performance but to take a few seconds to appreciate the crowd going feral (in the best way) during “Love Drunk.”
There was headbanging, arms were in the air, and lyrics weren’t just being sung, they were being screamed. It was the perfect vision of what live music is all about! And the band, compiled of front man Martin Johnson, Gregory James on bass, Jamel Hawke on lead guitar, and John Keefe on drums, know how to put on a show! At any given moment, you could just glance at any of them, and you’d be entertained. From throwing out more guitar picks than I’ve ever seen to just playing their music and looking effortlessly cool, they were always on their A game!
The room became a little quieter when they played the heartwarming ballad, “Two Is Better Than One.” There was a collective sway amongst the crowd as the song played. It was a sweet contrast that showed that BLG can bring the energy, but they can also bring the feels!
First shows of tours are always special, but this one was extra unique because BLG were playing some songs like “Real Thing,” and “The First One,” off of Love Drunk that had never been played live before! And some others like “Someone Like You,” and “The Shot Heard ‘Round The World,” hadn’t been played live in fifteen years. Times like that make me feel like I was a part of history in the making!
There was a brief intermission following “Go,” as the band transitioned to the next album, Boys Like Girls. They came out in a new set of outfits, ready to keep rocking!
“The Great Escape” launched us into the next era, and what a party that was! Another one of their biggest songs, it makes you feel like you’re the main character in a coming-of-age movie when even just listening to the recorded version – but live? It’s one of the most epic songs to experience live!
The hits didn’t stop there! They rolled through “Five Minutes to Midnight,” “Hero/Heroine,” (the crowd sang the chorus beautifully at one point), and “Thunder.” Lead singer Martin shared that he wrote Boys Like Girls when he was 18 and joked that he wanted to be “the punk pop, high-pitched Mariah Carey,” and said, “but now I’m 40 and have to sing it front to back after already singing through the whole Love Drunk album.” Listening to Martin, despite the 20 years that had passed since the album release and some technical difficulties throughout the night, he sounded phenomenal! Even though I know BLG’s music more as an adult, his voice and the songs I grew up with truly transported me back to 2006! It’s so interesting how music can do that!
Martin also shared how nice it was going to be to sleep in his own bed in Park City, where he relocated to in 2020 from Boston, after the show that night, before having to spend the nights in the foreseeable future in a tour bus! He teased that while he loves living in Utah, his hometown’s sports will always be better, but the people are nicer, the skiing is better, and he loves raising his kids in Utah!
As you’ve probably caught on, a lot of jumping and dancing took place throughout the show, but “Heels Over Head” has a strong, steady beat that had people jumping along so much that it felt like the floor was shaking!
As the final songs of the album drew to a close, Boys Like Girls favored fans with a reprise of “Love Drunk” and “The Great Escape!” They encouraged everyone to put their phones down just to bask in the music and be present. It was an awesome few minutes without a phone screen in sight as we all got to relive those iconic songs one more time!
After the final bow, the band members spent time handing out set lists and tossing out guitar picks and other various items from the stage. That’s always such a treat for fans! Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” blared over the speakers as everyone sang along on their way out.
It was such an honor to experience the first night of “The Soundtrack of Your Life Tour,” with performances from Arrows in Action and our Utah locals iDKHOW and Boys Like Girls! It was one of those nights that reminded me how much I love music. Nobody does it quite like Boys Like Girls! We can’t wait until the next time they play back at home again!