Paradise Rock Club was electrified with exhilarating and wild energy during James Bruner, The Ramona Flowers and Barns Courtney’s performance Oct. 13. 

James Bruner is a new emerging artist, with about 700 monthly listeners on Spotify. He draws inspiration from rock bands like “The Backseat Lovers” in his music, using an interlude from their song “Kilby Girl” in between his first two songs in his performance. He played a short set, including an unreleased song performed as if he were the headliner. 

From jumping on the drums to getting to the barricade to scream in the audience’s faces, it was clear he was taking full advantage of the opportunity to play outside of his home state of Illinois.

In a post-performance interview with The Suffolk Journal, he spoke about how he’s been enjoying touring. 

“I love everything about it. We’re getting the opportunity to visit these cities I’ve never been to before and it’s awesome,” said Bruner.

For Bruner, Boston has been anything but a disappointment. 

“I love it here,” he said. “We visited Fenway Park earlier and that was really cool, I’m a baseball nerd at heart so it feels so cool to be here.” 

The UK-based band, who has been releasing music since 2012, The Ramona Flowers, followed his set and took the stage before Barns Courtney. 

They performed fan favorites such as, “Up All Night,” “California” and “Hey You” and their newest release, a single released in 2023 titled “Nothing More To Worry About.” They also played a touching song about not having a good relationship with your family, and the audience was silent as Steve Bird, the lead singer, seemed to emotionally connect with the song. The feeling on his face intense. 

The band did a great job engaging the crowd, who were waiting in anticipation for Barns Courtney. With their series of songs, getting the crowd to clap along to the beat, and at times Bird getting on the floor and singing to the people at the barricade, they kept the energy high. 

Barns Courtney is an English singer/songwriter who took the stage late, despite both previous sets ending early, making the beginning of his performance very rocky. Within the first five minutes, Courtney knocked over a part of the drum set, and the next few minutes were spent with him continuing to perform, but the stage crew was swarming the stage to fix the drummer’s set. With the microphone feedback, the guitarist very visibly telling the sound booth that things on stage needed to be fixed and miming what needed to be fixed, Courtney tried to keep the energy strong, feral and electric. However, it was very hard to ignore the many difficulties of his band mates.

After things had been sorted out, the audience’s energy increased. He played new songs like “Supernatural,” his latest single “Young in America” and his most popular “Glitter and Gold” was performed about halfway through the set, reinvigorating the audience. Audience members were hoisted on other’s shoulders, cheering and screaming for Courtney, and the energy was quickly revived. 

Courtney closed with “Fire” which was featured in the Bradley Cooper movie “Burnt,” and included two acoustic songs which added a nice variety to the setlist. The audience was enthralled throughout his set, especially once all technical difficulties were resolved. 

Courtney’s set was enticing, with fantastic LED and spotlight use, and his stage presence captivated the audience. He included some of his own personal dance moves and occasionally swung the microphone by the wire, garnering cheers from the audience.

His untamed energy certainly salvaged the beginning of the performance. From laying across the drum set to taking a sip of water and blowing it out of his mouth into the air, he definitely gave the audience the show they were expecting. The energy within the venue, especially as the night went on, and the energy from all the performers, made it an entertaining night at Paradise Rock Club.