JAKE WESLEY ROGERS / STACEY RYAN 4.2.2023

Apr 9

Photos and Words By JULIA FINOCCHIARO

Jake Wesley Rogers brought 90 minutes of love, comfort, and great music to a sold out Brighton Music Hall in Boston last Sunday night. His first headlining tour ever, the “Peace, Love, and Pluto” tour comes after a nearly three month run opening for Panic! At The Disco this past fall. But you would never know that he’s never done this before; Rogers’ stage presence and connection with his fans is something truly special.

The evening began with singer Stacey Ryan, who opened with a short acoustic set. I’d never heard her music before, but I loved her voice and the chill vibes she brought to the room to set the mood for the night.

At around 9pm Jake made his grand entrance onto the stage dressed in this stunning flowy bright yellow coat, the first of many vibrant and colorful outfits that we would see that night. Although he began his set towards the back of the stage playing the piano, he wasted no time getting up and bringing the energy I remember him having last fall. A true performer who knows how to play well with the audience, Jake moved back and forth across the stage, on the ground, and even standing on the piano. He’s been one of my favorite artists to photograph; his animated nature and facial expressions are always captured so well on the images that myself and other photographers make of him.

Rogers packed the beginning of his set with lots of songs from his “LOVE” EP he released back in October of 2022, with hits like “Lavender Forever,” “My Mistake,” and “Call it Love.” Somewhere in there was the first outfit change of the night during which Jake returned to the stage now sporting a bright red, almost cape-like garment.

He then took a step back from the high energy performance to sit down at the piano before playing the next song, “Jacob from the Bible,” which he dedicated to his first boyfriend with the same name. He talked about all of the imperfections that first love can have and eventually revealed that Jacob had passed away some time ago. After this emotional, stripped down performance, Rogers performed what he introduced as his “favorite song to play in arenas” back when he was touring with Panic! “Cause of a Scene” is also on the slower side but does a great job showcasing his voice and is a great one for the crowd to sing along to. Another outfit change slipped its way in as well, with Rogers now in a white tank top and pants that very closely resembled a “Twister” game mat.

Next, Jake spent some time introducing the three band members that he had on stage with him: bassist Emma Lambiase, drummer Simon Knudston, and guitarist/keyboardist Mike Miller, through a game of truth or dare. Knudston, who chose truth, was challenged to a game of f***, marry, kill (spoiler alert: he killed the entire Red Sox team). Miller was dared by Jake to put on his red cape and “dance like I do” across the stage, and Lambiase was dared to sing a snippet of “Dark Bird” along with Rogers. This almost ten minute introduction really took the time to highlight the entire band and their personalities.

With the show almost over, Jake and his band closed out with “Hindsight,” an unreleased song called “Happy Accident,” and perhaps his most well-known song, “Pluto,” which the audience came ready to sing. “Happy Accident” came with a fun call and response sequence from the audience, which Jake and the band taught them how to do before playing the song. Instead of a traditional encore, Rogers came back out after the set was over to perform a powerful, nearly five minute spoken word piece titled “I Am,” which outlined his life experiences from when he was a child all the way up until now. You could hear a pin drop amongst the truly captivated Brighton Music Hall crowd as he recited the piece before thanking everyone and leaving the stage.

The “Peace, Love and Pluto” tour is nearly over, but I expect we’ve just seen the start of Jake Wesley Rogers. If you can catch one of the remaining dates, I’d highly recommend it, but if not, I’m confident we’ll be seeing Jake at even bigger and better shows sometime soon!

STACEY RYAN