Shane Boose, otherwise known as the singer-songwriter sombr, opened for Daniel Seavey at Big Night Live April 12, and his performance did not disappoint one bit. Sombr had fans jumping, crying and screaming their hearts out, all within his opening act.
Many know the 19-year-old singer by his viral song, “back to friends,” which blew up on TikTok earlier this year. The new and upcoming singer is just kick starting his music career and throughout his performance he showed his fans that he has worked hard to get to where he is. Through his alternative tracks he is able to capture the hearts of many listeners, especially with his emotional lyricism.
About 30 minutes after the first opener, kylekelly, left the stage, screams from across the audience were heard as sombr began his performance. He kick-started his set with, “perfume,” which was released July 2024. This set the perfect tone for the rest of his performance. Some audience members did not know of sombr, but most were heard singing along.
This opening track came with high energy, but also heavy lyrics, “I still keep our photos in a folder in case you come back to me / Someone turned the corner with your perfume and I fell to my knees,” sombr sings. There was no doubt that fans in the audience could relate to this, voices were being heard from every corner of the venue.
For being a young performer, sombr had one of the best stage presences seen in the Boston concert scene. He actively knows how to work a crowd and knows what the audience exactly wants in a performance.
From a high energy song to a more of a restrained mood, he brings out the song, “savior,” which never fails to bring tears to fans’ eyes. As sombr sings, “Why’d you have to become a stranger? / You were supposed to be my savior,” the stage lights rose, making it seem like an angelic figure was descending from the stage. This track perfectly describes what his music is all about: the never-ending journey to finding love.
His vocals were rich and pure during this performance, bringing life to a song that makes many feel lifeless. During his performance of “savior,” there was never a moment where he did not accurately display the emotions he was trying to convey through the song. This helped the audience, whether they knew the song or not, understand what he was going through emotionally.
Another tear-jerker during his set was, “i don’t know you anymore,” which had fans in a whirlwind. This slow moving track was performed so beautifully the crowd was left speechless throughout the song. It’s hard to put words to this moment, because the true and raw emotion he captured was on another level. He gave this song his all, and fans were grateful to share this moment with him.
As sombr finished this track, a bright spotlight illuminated from behind him, and transitioned into one of his first songs to gain major traction, “caroline.” Released back in 2022, sombr wrote this song while he was still in high school, and it essentially accelerated his music career. This acoustic guitar led song had fans swaying in place, and provokes the question of how to move on from a past relationship.
To change up the mood a bit, sombr performed a more upbeat, yet still lyrically emotional unreleased song, “I wish I knew how to quit you.” Currently, there is no official title to this unreleased track, but fans were not disappointed at all. The song was originally leaked on TikTok back in January, but sombr was still surprised when fans were singing the lyrics along with him.
This unreleased track takes on a different vibe than the rest of his songs, with a lot of rock-like instrumentation backing sombr’s voice.
He also brought out a guest for his set, Flawed Mangoes, who produced the wonderful guitar track for sombr’s song, “would’ve been you.” This was the first time both artists got to perform together, and both of their talents were shining bright on stage. Flawed Mangoes’ skill puts fans in a trance, while sombr mourns for his love-interest. The duo also performed, “do i ever cross your mind,” which was a fan favorite.
It wouldn’t have been a sombr concert, without “back to friends” and “undressed” which have gained major popularity on social media recently. His performance during these two viral songs was met with almost the whole venue screaming along. “back to friends,” which has about 89 million streams on Spotify, took the medal for the night. As soon as the chorus hit, fans screamed, “How can we go back to being friends / When we just shared a bed? / How can you look at me and pretend / I’m someone you’ve never met?” without hesitation. A sense of heartbreak was felt amongst the crowd.
Sombr’s performance of “back to friends” was not only heartbreaking, but so freeing to hear live. Throughout the song, sombr was seen “crashing out” on stage, running into his band and mentally and physically breaking down. His stage presence during this track was simply phenomenal, he is not just a singer, but a performer. However, it is sad to think about how young he is, but how in-depth his lyrics are able to go. Although, judging from fans’ enthusiasm, it is a shared feeling amongst many of his listeners.
On the other hand, “undressed,” has been teased on TikTok for quite some time now, but it was only just released a few weeks ago on March 21. His performance of this viral track was highly anticipated throughout the night and the entire audience was in high hopes, and he definitely did not let those hopes die.
This track just recently hit Billboards Top 100, which is well deserved for the heartbreaking song. It still is growing on TikTok with the song rapidly growing daily on the app. Even though the song was just recently released, it already has raked in about 36 million streams on Spotify.
His entire performance was simply unforgettable. Sombr is just beginning to launch his career, and opening act at Big Night Live proved just that. Even if fans did not know of him before the opening, they definitely knew him when they left. His originality is one of a kind, and for a young performer, he is commanding the music scene.
