Photo credit: Caleb Nikolich

As the old saying goes, “Each day on twitter there is one main character. The goal is to never be it.” Just a few months ago, Hobo Johnson was the main character when his 2018 NPR Tiny Desk Concert performing “Peach Scone” went viral as the discourse-of-the-week, and it was… not pretty.

So anyways, I have been looking forward to seeing Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers Peach Scone Anniversary Tour for months.

I’m a long-term fan, seeing them at the Rise and Fall of Hobo Johnson tour back in 2019 at the height of Frank Lopes Jr.’s virality. But when I told my friends what I was doing on this chilly Tuesday evening, I got a lot of “I used to love Hobo Johnson!” “Oh, he was so great!” …people, why the past tense?!

Thanks to this sentiment, I was expecting an empty Grog Shop. Instead, I arrived to a sold out room before the first opener even finished. So when Frank and crew took the stage and “Mover Awayer” started, the place absolutely exploded.

Photo credit: Caleb Nikolich

The arrangements that The Lovemakers use on tour are the best versions of his songs and I will stand by that. I feel like some of the “cringe” accusation that gets (unfairly) thrown his way come from the “Soundcloud rapper” (he is not a rapper) of it all. I desperately want streaming versions of the live “Romeo + Juliet” or “S-x and the City.” You guys, “Romeo + Juliet” in this way was transcendental. The original already packs a punch, but this performance solidifies it as one of the rawest songs out there.

Another sentiment I want to fight when it comes to the perception of Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers – that this is music for the lonely, potentially dangerous boy. Let me tell you, I was not alone as a young woman there. To quote Coi Leray, “girls is players too.” The loneliness and desperate romanticism and mental health struggles that Frank portrays are not exclusive to the male audience. All genders and ages can relate to his ability to capture young love and the struggles of early adulthood.

Photo credit: Caleb Nikolich

So GOD does it feel good to yell about these things on a Midwest, freezing cold weeknight.

And in the age of the industry plant, of AI actors getting signed, of concepts being recycled and nothing feeling new… let “Peach Scone” regain its virality for the wrong reasons. The right people will find it, and even the wrong people have to admit that this sincerity is needed in the scene right now. Go to one of his sold out shows and just try and tell me I’m wrong.

–

You can see for yourself as the Peach Scone Anniversary Tour continues throughout the fall. Find tickets here!