A Great Big World are a musical duo from New York. Tonight, Chad King is not on stage due to some personal issues. So, Ian Axel has brought along a guitarist instead. 

They open with “Can We Go Back Home” from their 2021 album, Particles. It’s an absolutely beautiful song. After finishing, Ian jokes “Please don’t go home”.  

Later on, they cover Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. Instead of singing, “I’ve got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby”, he swaps in Matchbox 20, in a nod to the headliner of the night. Kate Peytavin also covered this song earlier in the year at the Salt Shed. 

The guitarist leaves the stage and then Ian plays “Say Something” solo from their 2014 album “Is There Anybody Out There?”. This is their most popular song on Spotify with a whopping 1.1 billion streams! This song was featured in South Park Season 19, Episode 6 “Tweek x Craig”. In this satirical animation and live tonight, the song strikes an emotional chord. The audience is on their feet singing along. 

They close with the title track from their 2018 album, Younger. “Butterflies in my chest when I asked for your number / You smiled and said, “you’re funny” / Two words and I was gone / You wrote it on my arm / I swear, we set off the alarm”. It’s such a fun song about looking back at your childhood. 

At just 25 minutes, this was just a quick taste of A Great Big World. Hopefully they’ll be back soon to play a full set.  

Check out our review of Genevieve, who opened for them at Lincoln Hall in 2016. 

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $37

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney