Spencer Sutherland Sweeps Us All In His Mania

In the frigid weather that’s shocked San Diego to it’s core, everyone inside the House of Blues were kept warm thanks to one man. Spencer Sutherland has been in the public eye for music since 2013,gaining some buzz thanks to appearing on “The X-Factor” in 2014. Ever year though, he has been on the up-and-up ever since changing his sound to more of alternative pop. The shift in his music has in my opinion, helped him reach a wider audience (myself included) which you can clearly notice if you scanned the packed venue.

Opening the In His Mania tour was Cloe Wilder, a singer-songwriter who is still a teenager. You can tell she was getting used to being on stage to a big crowd but she held her own just fine. A memorable song from her set was “Crying When I Shouldn’t.” The second opener, Dylan Conrique was up next and it seemed like the crowd was more familiar with her. Conrique, like Cloe Wilder, was another singer-songwriter. but after checking out her Instagram and Tik Tok, seemed like a big deal.She had good state presence and it was cool to see an opener who kept the crowd entranced with up-tempo bops and heartbreaking ballads. After her set was finished, I knew she set a high bar for Spencer Sutherland .

I could tell the crowd was antsy with their bodies full of anticipation awaiting Spencer to hit the stage. I recall seeing him posting numerous stories on Instagram where he was hyping up tonight’s show. A lot of thoughts were racing through my mind before Spencer came on stage. One of them was if he was hitting his groove yet with San Diego being only the 3rd stop of his headline tour so far. However, once the lights dimmed and I heard the audience erupt with cheers, I knew all my worries would be erased.

When Spencer Sutherland finally grace the room, I immediately noticed his outfit. It looked like he came out of a time machine from the 1700’s but I have to admit, not everyone can pull off the outfit and Spencer was an exception. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of his music, if you ever saw him live then you can tell he definitely had such an aura on stage where you couldn’t take your eyes off him. Throughout the night, he had great engagement with the crowd whether it was getting them involved with songs or even coming down into the audience to sing. It was impressive him to see him dancing while singing but never appear to look or even sound gassed. Those who are fans of Sutherland’s already know the incredible range he has. Some of the songs he just nails with high pitch singing like “B!tch” leave you in awe when you see it being sang live. Although his set pieces were a little bland, it’s hard to argue against some strong, bright lights and a lit up star sign making Spencer look like anything but a rock star on stage..

During the middle of his set, Spencer acknowledged the warm reception he was receiving from the crowd and talked about wanting to come back again to perform. He talked about how the last time he performed for his headline tour, he played at the small room at the House of Blues and he was originally suppose to play there again but there was so much demand that the show got upgraded to the main hall. All the love he got from his fans helped bump up demand for the show to the point where they had to upgrade it, so it was nice to see him giving love back. I came into the night with no expectations but now the bar is going to be on the ceiling the next time he performs in San Diego. Some other stand out songs from the night were “Tell Me”, “Jealousy” (the music video is a must watch if you’re a fan of High School Musical), “Paranoia” and “Cry”. The concert was just full of good vibes and some fans even had signs they held up for his set. All in all, Spencer Sutherland is a great singer but even better performer. If he ever comes into your town then you gotta go. Seeing Spencer perform live is like watching Bradley Cooper act because you’ll see a star is born either way.