FINNEAS rocks and opens emotional wounds at MGM

Concert Reviews

FINNEAS connected with his Boston audience at Friday’s concert, sharing that he would visit his uncle in the city annually and had an interest in the life of Paul Revere.

“Boston is one of my favorite places to be. I can’t get enough of you guys,” said FINNEAS with a bashful smile. 

The multihyphenate stood on stage at MGM Music Hall on Friday with a casual coolness in his demeanor. The 27-year-old singer, songwriter, producer, and actor born Finneas O’Connell has already achieved wild success as a 10-time Grammy award winner. Those accomplishments were linked to his work with his sister Billie Eilish, but he also has his own solo project. 

FINNEAS released his second studio album “For Cryin’ Out Loud” last October, leaning into pop-rock with soul-crushing breakup ballads and groovy tracks about new romance. This tour was his time to bask in the spotlight. 

He walked out in an all-black suit to sit at a piano under dramatic white spotlights and a golden archway. FINNEAS’s hands danced across the keys as he unleashed a smooth vibrato on “Starfucker,” a song about resenting the loss of a lover you knew was toxic from the start. 

He cried out the lyrics, reverberating with the overwhelming ache of knowing better. “I was such an optimist/ You’re a fuckin’ narcissist,” he sang as the audience screamed the second line. Bass and electric guitar entered to bring up the energy, but the song retreated back as FINNEAS ended engulfed in white light, seemingly alone at the piano once more.

“You wanna dance, Boston?” he asked, transitioning into “Lotus Eater.” Green and purple light cast on the band as a coming-of-age rom-com, Del Water Gap-esque vibe filled the room. “Grab my wrist ’til your knuckles are white/ It’s a brand-new kiss in the same old light/ In a Friday bliss on a Sunday night/ I wanna feel like this ’til I feel alright,” he sang as the audience swayed. With its bursting rock, this song might have made for a better opener.

FINNEAS continued on a lover boy track with “Cleats.” An audience member comedically held up their own crutch from the pit during the line, “You could be the crutch that she holds/ Got herself a sprained ankle.”

Cherry-colored lights coated the stage for “Sweet Cherries,” another flirty song about obsessing over a girl. FINNEAS leaned into a 1950s heartthrob persona, strutting across the stage with a dapper but sultry aura. 

Audience members screeched like they were at a One Direction concert at the start of “What’s It Gonna Take to Break Your Heart?” He got the audience singing and clapping along to the swaying beat. 

“Angel” was a theatrical burst of emotion with a stunning chord progression. Phone flashlights flickered through the crowd as FINNEAS started quiet and intimate before he unleashed all-consuming feelings and the full band joined in. He transitioned to the politically-charged staccato track “The Kids Are All Dying,” falling to his knees and singing about how love is superfluous when war and climate change rage on.

FINNEAS played nostalgic “Partners in Crime” with an addicting chord progression and an intoxicatingly depressing “Little Window.” 

He told the audience that he used to visit his uncle in Boston every year with Eilish as kids. He was one of those kids with a niche interest, and it was none other than Paul Revere. “I thought he was so sick,” he added. The day before his show, he walked on the frozen pond in the Boston Common, letting himself take a second to breathe.

FINNEAS performed a solo version of his collaboration with Ashe, “Till Forever Falls Apart,” a cinematic doomsday track about holding a lover close til the end. He sang, “I’ve spent a lifetime giving you my heart/ I swear that I’ll be yours forever/ ‘Til forever falls apart.” The song felt like a grand finale, but he wasn’t done yet.

He transitioned into the deceivingly titled “Family Feud,” a platonic love letter to his sister. Some tears were shed as he reminisced about precious moments spent alone with Eilish. 

FINNEAS closed the show with his latest album’s title track “For Cryin’ Out Loud!” The song is deeply addictive and catchy for being about the twisting highs and lows of love.

“For cryin’ out loud, I’m calling your name/ You’re wearing me out, but I love you the same/ For cryin’ out loud, your heart is a maze/ You’re running your mouth, but I’m singing your praises,” FINNEAS sang, solidifying his boy next door capacity to love.

Setlist for FINNEAS at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Feb. 22, 2025

For Cryin’ Out Loud!

Starfucker

Lotus Eater

Cleats

Sweet Cherries

What’s It Gonna Take to Break Your Heart?

Angel

The Kids Are All Dying

Partners in Crime

A Concert Six Months From Now

2001

Little Window

Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa

Only a Lifetime

Till Forever Falls Apart (Ashe cover)

Family Feud

I Lost a Friend

Break My Heart Again

Let’s Fall in Love for the Night