From Ballads to Mosh Pits: Bryant Barnes Lights Up Lincoln Hall

On March 18th Bryant Barnes performed at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, and while his laid-back persona might suggest a mellow night, the performance proved anything but. 

Opening the evening, Crying City warmed up the crowd with a dreamy, understated set.  Many of the audience members I spoke with in the crowd were unfamiliar with her work, but shared their excitement with me of becoming a new fan of hers. Her performance created an intimate atmosphere to start the night; her calm and sweet songs were reminiscent of Clairo, Billie Eilish and Beabadoobee. 

As fog slowly seeped onto the stage, the crowd's anticipation grew; we were all anxiously awaiting Barnes' arrival. He was met with a roar of applause from the crowd as he joined us on stage opening the night with "Solace"; the title track from his recent album. The audience was enamored by his stage presence as they sang along with him.

As the night unfolded, I was struck by how all of his songs evoke different feelings from the audience. In one moment he had people crying to a ballad, and in the next he had everyone laughing, and singing about Minecraft, and Discord servers. Throughout the night Barnes took his listeners on an emotional roller coaster, and they loved every second of it.

He continued his set by shifting into a more nostalgic moment with his cover of "Don’t Dream it’s Over" by Crowded House, before performing an unreleased song that further showed his range as an artist. 

One of the most memorable parts of the night came when Barnes invited a fan, Lelani, onstage to sing his song “Last Year” with him. This song has incredibly strong vocals and Leilani nailed every single note. If no one had said she came from the crowd I would have assumed she was a surprise musical guest. 

As the set came to a close, Barnes briefly exited before returning for an encore. Just as the audience began drifting toward the merch stand, the sudden sound of Playboi Carti blasted through the speakers, sending everyone rushing back to the stage in hopes of seeing his famous crowd surfing for themselves. The music quickly transitioned to “Fein” by Travis Scott and within seconds, Barnes launched himself into the crowd, igniting a full-blown mosh pit. In the blink of an eye this emotional concert filled with ballads instantly became a high-energy rap show; no one stood still. 

Once the chaos settled, he brought the crowd back down by singing “We Are Young” by Fun, joined onstage by a surprise appearance from Spiderman—a moment that felt especially timely following news shared earlier that day about the next Spiderman film starring Tom Holland. Together, they waved goodnight; closing out a chaotic, emotional and unforgettable night.

If you have the opportunity to catch Bryant Barnes live, take it—just don’t expect to leave feeling the same way you did when you walked in. Find tickets for his current tour “Solace” here.