Jason Schmidt Live In Boston
BY ELLA BIANCHI
Currently starring as Sodapop Curtis in The Outsiders on Broadway, Jason Schmidt has an acclaimed solo career among musical fans with singles such as “My Ego Loves You” and “Growing Up”. Since October, Jason has spent most of his Monday evenings headlining concerts in large cities across the United States from Los Angeles to New York City to his hometown of Chicago. Despite also being a Chicago native, last week I had the pleasure of flying to Massachusetts for his show at City Winery Boston.
Two longtime friends and collaborators of Jason’s, Nuala Cleary and Kid Wolf, opened for him. Nuala was accompanied by Freddy Hall, one of the pit guitarists at The Outsiders. Her soft, sultry voice backed by the heavy tone of Freddy’s expert fingerpicking created a beautiful contrast that highlighted the raw emotion of Nuala’s lyrics reflecting real-life experiences with previous romantic partners. Although none of Nuala’s music is released, she is planning to start publishing her work on major streaming platforms in the coming months. In the meantime, she can be found featured on Kid Wolf’s recent album The Magic Trick Rap Show on a couple of tracks including “Levitation” and “Hypnosis”.
PHOTO BY TEEN VOUGE
While Kid Wolf’s clever lyricism brought the roof down on its own with songs like “Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia” that features the five longest words in the English dictionary, the real focus of his set was on The Abracultabra, a string orchestra named after a play on the world abracadabra. The band featured musicians on the piano, bass, drums, trumpet, violin, and cello. Not too many rappers incorporate traditional orchestrations into their otherwise modern tunes, but Kid Wolf proves that this overlapping of genres can be done successfully when combined with a passionate frontman.
Towards the end of his set, Kid Wolf brought out Nuala to perform the aforementioned single “Levitation”. On his album this track also features Jason; however, since he had not come out yet, Kid Wolf had us sing his parts so as not to spoil the headliner. This audience interaction made it feel like we were a part of one big vibey family before Jason even started singing. While most of Jason’s audience walked into City Winery already familiar with Nuala and Kid Wolf, everyone walked out a superfan.
Jason finally hit the stage, opening with “Hey Hailey” from his 2023 EP Intrusive Thoughts. This song’s high energy was the perfect way to kick off the evening as it is a staple among his fans everyone knows the lyrics to. It was wonderful to see everyone singing and dancing along from the comfort of their seats in the wedding reception-style venue that does not allow standing during concerts. The audience set a strong precedent early into the night that only got stronger as Jason continued to perform.
Most of the music Jason performed were unreleased singles including “Dark Surrender” which was written during the first Music Tuesday with his father where they sat down every Tuesday to compose original music as Jason was starting his foray into songwriting. This song has a growing drum beat alongside a simple, consistent piano part that creates a pulsing beat perfect for swaying along to. Other unreleased singles Jason performed include the upbeat “You Can Stop Me Now” written by Jason during a low point in his life after his Paramount+ show, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, had been cancelled in an attempt to lift his mood and “My Stoner Girlfriend”, the most anticipated of his upcoming releases among fans.
PHOTO BY EASE UP MAGAZINE
A week before the concert, Jason had uploaded a poll to his Instagram story allowing fans to vote on which released song he would perform at this show. Ultimately “Intrusive Thoughts” off his EP under the same name won. I was initially apprehensive as someone who voted for “Bottle of Bad Wine” and forced all of my non-Jason friends to vote in an attempt to skew the results; however, “Intrusive Thoughts” ended up being one of my favorite performances of the night. Jason’s ability to act through song had me feeling emotions I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so publicly. For that, I am grateful.
The final song Jason performed was “Gold Man”. A rather intense tune compared to the rest of his discography that ended the breakup section of his setlist, “Gold Man” features traditional rock vocal techniques that fans do not get to see him flex often. It was a surprising contrast as a newer fan of Jason, but seasoned followers already knew all of the lyrics just like they did to the rest of his unreleased songs.
Jason came out a few minutes later for an encore: “Little Blue World” from his first EP, Meet Me at Midnight (2021). A similar message to one of his latest singles, “Little Blue World” discusses the trials of growing up and realizing that the world is more complicated than it seems, but finding solace in your closest friends by learning that it is okay to lean on those you care about for support. Ending the night by singing this song in a room full of mostly college-aged people – the same age Jason was when he wrote it – was an unforgettable experience and the perfect way to end a 1,000 mile cross country trip.
PHOTO FROM JASON’S INSTAGRAM
I have been to concerts of all sizes all across the country. I knew immediately after I walked out of City Winery that Jason’s would be added to my top three. The entire experience felt like a home away from home, which is exactly what I needed as this was the first time I had travelled alone. I was worried that I wouldn’t feel included, but that feeling quickly melted away as soon as the first chord struck and I recognized I was exactly where I was supposed to be at that moment.
Jason’s next single “Close By” is set to release on all major streaming platforms on January 24, 2025. Jason will be joining Kid Wolf and Nuala Cleary at the sold out Magic Trick Rap Show LIVE performance on January 26, 2025 to celebrate the album’s release at Brooklyn Music Kitchen. Additionally, Jason is continuing his headline concert series at Union Stage in Washington, D.C. on February 3, 2025 and at City Winery Philadelphia on February 17, 2025. Tickets are available at https://www.jasonschmidtofficial.com/tour .
