PHOTOS: Jeremy Zucker – New York, NY – 11/7

Cathartic, sad, exhilarating, heartwarming, nostalgic. Jeremy Zucker’s tour stop in New York delivered a rollercoaster of emotions in a beautifully executed show.

The openers for this show, Kevin Atwater, Sam MacPherson and Tiffany Day, started the night with lovely performances across the board. Day’s set was certainly a highlight to get the crowd dancing before Zucker came on. She filled the room with an energetic oomph of EDM-bubblegum pop, a welcome leap from Atwater and MacPherson’s slower, acoustic indie-pop.

The stage at Terminal 5 looked as if the concert was held in an outdoor open meadow set for an indie movie. A landscape of wildflowers and abstracted organic shapes on the LED screens set a humble, upbeat tone for Zucker’s entrance. Standing on a glowing platform emerging from the grass and illuminated from vibrant hues behind, the singer opened with “i need you (in my life)” from Zucker’s “is nothing sacred?” EP for which the tour is supporting. The subtlety of these production elements elevated Zucker’s performance, making the show uniquely, memorably and charismatically his own. As much as a self-described “social introvert” could, he embraced the main character feeling of it all. 

Zucker has come a long way from the early successes of “comethru”, which was released after he graduated college in 2018. Still, the concert was just as authentic and raw as one might expect from his blend of indie and laid-back pop.

From the career-catapulting song “you were good to me” to the mellow, emotional “scared”, Zucker knows how to tug at the heartstrings. An especially sweet moment came during “Cry With You” when he brought his mother onto the stage for the first time. Given it was a hometown show (he’s actually from New Jersey— as New Yorkers would point out), the full circle sentiment was heartwarming and grounding (they were quite literally sitting on the ground). Everybody in the room couldn’t help but smile on cue when Zucker turned to his mother and sang the lyrics “‘Cause there’s a whole lot that’ll make you smile, and nobody knows you like I do.” 

Throughout the concert, Zucker carefully sprinkled in some of his more catchy, surprisingly danceable songs such as “OK” from his most recent EP and the beloved “not ur friend” from his “love is not dying” album. The crescendo and guitar solo during “lakehouse” helped balance the plethora of mellow songs. 

The visuals elevated the show to tell a refreshingly new story behind each song. The clips accompanying Zucker’s song “this is how you fall in love” were beautifully spliced scenes of the music video with his close collaborator, Chelsea Cutler, and lo-fi footage of leaves and grass that looked as if they were taken in the summer ‘99. Even with a more mature sound, Zucker’s performance retained the essence of youthfulness, nostalgia and navigating adulthood in the modern era.

Zucker ended the show with two fan-favorites: “always, i’ll care” and “supercuts”. Diving into the crowd for the last few choruses, the singer bade New York a memorable farewell. Singing songs about breakups, relationships and loneliness in a venue full of fans singing all the lyrics back is vulnerable enough. To do so in front of— and with— his mother is another story. To do so in the crowd because he feels comfortable with the connection to his fans is golden.

The “is nothing sacred?” tour continues across the United States through December 2.