Boys Like Girls Bring Their Double Album Anniversary Celebration to Philadelphia
- Kara Maddox
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
2000s pop-punk icons Boys Like Girls are celebrating not one, but two album anniversaries in 2026. This year marks 20 years of Boys Like Girls, the band’s self-titled debut album, and 17 years of the fan-favorite record Love Drunk. To commemorate this, the band embarked on the massive “Soundtrack of Your Life” Tour in March, and will continue hitting major cities across North America until the tour concludes in Seattle, WA on May 10. The celebration won’t stop there as the band plans to tour the UK in July as well. On April 9, Boys Like Girls stopped at the historic Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia, PA, performing the two albums in full. Throughout the 2 hour set, the crowd’s energy never died down for a second.
Starting off the night was upcoming pop-rock band Arrows in Action. Having been on several tours within the past year such as the Summer School Tour and a run with The Home Team, Arrows in Action have been quickly rising in popularity. With upbeat, high-energy tracks, their music can encourage anyone to get up and dance. Opening with their fan-favorite track “Light Like You”, the crowd immediately became immersed in the music, jumping and singing along. With the release of their deluxe album I Think I’ve Heard This Before coming on April 24, the band played a currently unreleased track “Twice”, and their newest release “Stop Talking”. The band closed their set with their breakthrough song “Cheekbones”, and the crowd continued dancing until the end. Even if most of the crowd was just introduced to Arrows in Action that night, the band definitely made many new fans.
The second and final opener to take the stage was alt-pop band I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME (iDKHOW). Now a solo project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Dallon Weekes, the band has become known for its eclectic style, combining rock, pop, electronic, and more to create a sound of their own. No two songs from iDKHOW sound the same, making them an interesting band for any music fan. The band opened with the satirical acoustic track “Nobody Likes the Opening Band”, before diving into the classic rock-inspired “SPKOTHDVL”. Dallon’s commanding stage presence is a hallmark of iDKHOW shows, grabbing the crowd’s attention from the moment he walked on stage. His use of crowd control fully gets the audience engaged, getting them to cheer, be quiet, or sing whenever he wants. Throughout the set, even the audience in the seats were getting off their feet, and it was clear the fans were fully warmed up for the headliner. Everybody did, in fact, like the opening band!
At around 8:45, the lights began to dim for the final time as the crowd cheered, anticipating the headlining act. A mountain of TVs on stage started up, playing clips of historic moments from the early 2000s. Once the TVs turned off, Boys Like Girls walked onto the stage, with the venue erupting in cheers. Kicking off the double album celebration, the band started with their 2009 album Love Drunk. Since the band performed both albums in tracklist order, they opened with “Heart Heart Heartbreak” and the iconic “Love Drunk”. Right away, the fans were already invigorated, jumping and screaming along to every lyric.
Anyone who has seen Boys Like Girls live will mention the band’s unmatched energy and stage presence. Each member of the band showed a clear passion and love for performing, which encourages anyone to dance and sing along with them. Frontman Martin Johnson’s dynamic vocals captivated the crowd, while lead guitarist Jamel Hawke and bassist Gregory James ran across the stage performing vibrant riffs and rhythms. The only times the crowd quieted down was during acoustic tracks, in which the fans would wave their phone flashlights in the air. Halfway through the performance of Love Drunk, Martin made sure to thank the fans for getting the band to where they are today, telling them that it’s all thanks to them that they are able to be on stage. Once Love Drunk came to an end, the band walked off the stage for an intermission, with a 10 minute countdown appearing on the TV screens.
When the 10 minute countdown was nearly finished, the TV screens started up again, playing other historic clips from the 2000s. Boys Like Girls walked back onstage as the room filled with cheers, excited to hear the full playthrough of the band’s 2006 debut album Boys Like Girls. Opening with their biggest hit and breakthrough track, “The Great Escape”, the fans were fully energized once again, with the voices of the fans booming throughout the venue as they sang along to every word. The energy never died down as the crowd kept jumping and singing to every song, including fan-favorites like “Hero/Heroine” and “Thunder”. Before the album came to an end, Martin thanked the fans again for supporting them for 20 years, and assured Philly that they will be back next year with new music. After the band performed “Holiday”, the last track on Boys Like Girls, the show wasn’t over yet; they performed “The Great Escape” a second time, along with a snippet of “Love Drunk”. The fans were jumping and singing along until the very last note, ending the set with a bang. With a double celebration of two iconic pop-punk albums, Philly fans were left with a night they will never forget.
