by Claire Johnson | July 16th , 2024

All images are from Boys Like Girls -Lost in Wonderland Small Town USA Tour in Richmond, Virginia. on 7/16/24.

Photo by Claire Johnson | @clairejellocreative

Boys Like Girls return to Richmond for the first time in 14 years. Taking a long hiatus, they released a brand new album titled SUNDAY AT FOXWOODS in 2023, which marked their first release in over 10 years.

They are currently promoting the album on the “Lost In Wonderland: Small Town USA Tour” which they are headlining with support from Grayscale. The second show on the tour was at The National in Richmond Virginia on July 16, 2023. The venue was packed on a Tuesday night, filled with fans of all ages, many excited to see one of their favorite childhood bands.

Opening the show was a local band from Virginia called Red Weather, alongside popular Philly-based rock band, Grayscale. As soon as Grayscale started their set, many fans in the audience immediately started crowd surfing, something that does not happen often during most opening performances. This is just a true testament to the band’s unique performance and dedicated fanbase. Grayscale chose a wide variety of songs to play from their discography, including a live debut of Summer Clothes, which was unreleased at the time.

The much anticipated act of the night, Boys Like Girls, did not disappoint as the band entered the stage and kicked their performance off with one of their most famous singles, Love Drunk. Lead singer, Martin “Marty” Johnson, was pleased to announce to the crowd that they should be happily surprised to hear “all the songs [they] came to see” at the show. Marty also mentioned his enthusiasm for the small town shows and being able to focus on the music without the production of a major tour. Boys Like Girls played a total of 26 songs, including mashups and covers, with hits like Thunder, Be Your Everything, The Great Escape and Hero/Heroine. Boys Like Girls concluded their show by treating the audience to a beautiful acoustic version of Two is Better Than One, which originally featured Taylor Swift as a collaborator, leaving fans feeling nostalgic and fully satiated.