NYC Went to the Moon With Fitz and The Tantrums

August 14th — Multi-platinum Los Angeles megastars Fitz and The Tantrums landed in New York City’s Pier 17 for their massive Man on the Moon tour. The band’s 21-song setlist spanned their illustrious career and had the NYC crowd singing and dancing all night long, with the Brooklyn Bridge and city skyline as the backdrop to this summer-night soundtrack.

For readers unfamiliar, New York City’s Pier 17 Rooftop is an incredible 3,500-capacity music venue situated in the Financial District. With the Brooklyn Bridge directly behind the stage, patrons enjoy a 360-degree view of the city, including the Statue of Liberty, One World Trade Center, the Empire State Building, and more of the skyline. Truly a one-of-a-kind place.

Fans poured in (or should I say up?) through the escalators to the rooftop, ready to vibe and have a good time. Up first to warm up the crowd was local Philly band Snacktime, an American soul-funk-alternative group. The seven-piece band, founded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, has been featured at major U.S. music festivals and serves as the house band for Jason Kelce’s (retired Philadelphia Eagle) late-night sports talk show. Vocalist Nico Bryant infectious energy radiated through the crowd. Each member of Snacktime was a master of their craft, with several switching between multiple instruments during the set. Standout moments included “SNACKMFTIME” and their latest single “Enough”, self-released this past July.

Next up was Neal Francis. As the sun began to set over the rooftop at Pier 17, indie rocker/R&B star Francis took the stage alongside bandmates Colin O’Brien (drums), Mike Starr (bass), and Austin “Smushie” Koenigstein. Their vintage, feel-good vibe transported the crowd back to the analog era, with dirty, driving basslines, tight beats, and soulful guitar licks—all commanded seamlessly by Francis on his modified clavinet and keyboards. The set leaned heavily on tracks from his latest album Return to Zero, released March 15 via ATO Records.

Neal Francis Setlist

Changes, Pts. 1 & 2

Need You Again

Broken Glass

Can’t Get Enough of You

This Time

What’s Left of Me

150 More Times

By now, the sun had officially set over New York. A cool blue hue washed over the stage, with flashes of digital ads beaming off the faces of the crowd as anticipation built for Fitz and The Tantrums. The lights dimmed, the crowd roared, and the six-piece band entered, kicking things off with the upbeat drum intro of “OCD” from their 2019 album All The Feels. From there, the band barely slowed down, delivering hit after hit. “OK OK OK” and “Oh Maria” followed, both from their latest album Man on the Moon, released July 25 via Atlantic Records.

Vocalists Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs elevated the energy even higher during “Moneygrabber”. The band reached new heights with “Livin’ for the Weekend”, which set off the crowd’s weekend (Thursday is close enough!) with dancing and singing all around. The rest of the epic setlist spanned fan favorites from All the Feels, More Than Just a Dream, and their self-titled album. To cap off the night, a multi-song encore where Fitz slowed things down with “All the Feels” before ramping the energy back up. The crowd joined in full force for “MoneyMaker”, “Let Yourself Free”, and, of course, the mega-anthem “Handclap”.

Fitz and The Tantrums are: Michael Fitzpatrick (vocals), Noelle Scaggs (co-vocals), James King (sax, flute, harmonica, keyboards, percussion, guitars), Joseph Karnes (bass), Jeremy Ruzumna (keyboards).