OLIVIA BURGER
a&l editor
A mix of enthusiastic “stan” youth and a less dramatic but equally excited number of older fans came together Thursday evening at The Goodyear Theater in Akron, Ohio to take in the perfect performer that is Garrett Borns.
The singer, who is referred to by his last name styled as BØRNS, performed his recently released sophomore album “Blue Madonna” in full for the sold-out show.
The traditional setup of The Goodyear Theater only allowed for a small number of dedicated fans, many of whom waited hours outside the venue in chilling temperatures, to crowd around the stage in a general admission pit style.
The remaining attendees were seated in the theater seats, but that didn’t stop them from standing and dancing during BØRNS set.
Before BØRNS hit the stage, two opening acts — Mikky Ekko and Charlotte Cardin — warmed up the crowd.
Mikky Ekko, most famous for co-writing and featuring on Rihanna’s six-time platinum hit “Stay,” gave an electric performance of his newer material and fittingly closed with an emotional rendition of the song that made him famous.
Cardin came next, performing a far less engaging number of slow piano songs that would’ve made more sense to put before Ekko’s up-tempo set.
After roughly two seemingly slow hours of openers, BØRNS took the stage opening with the first song on his new album, “God Save Our Young Blood.”
The song, which features singer Lana Del Rey, was altered to omit Del Rey’s background vocals, but the change was hard to notice amongst the screams and excitement from the audience.
BØRNS certainly proved his vocal abilities, especially considering that he sang the entire “Blue Madonna” record from front to back and matched his vocals perfectly to those on the album.
From his stature and initial image, BØRNS doesn’t strike many as a particularly aggressive performer, but he dominated the stage for the entire evening.
Despite no elaborate stage décor or gimmicks, there was never a dull delay in the set or a moment where the audience wasn’t sucked into his charismatic display of talent.
After completing “Blue Madonna,” BØRNS returned for an encore consisting of songs from his first full length album, “Dopamine.”
During the fan favorite song “American Money,” the singer stopped the song to address a situation occurring in the pit with a fan who had passed out.
After taking a few minutes to talk to the fan and make sure she was OK, BØRNS started the song from the top, allowing those in attendance to hear one of his best songs twice in one evening.
The admiration BØRNS received from a diverse audience, his charismatic and talented performance style and his genuine care for the fans in attendance proved that he is a true artist in every sense of the word.
OLIVIA BURGER
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