On September 5 and 6, Bruno Mars performed his two-day program at Gillette Stadium as part of his highly anticipated global The Romantic Tour. Boston marked the 22nd of 42 distinct city stops, just a little over halfway through the tour’s global schedule.
The concerts featured a high-energy, career-spanning setlist that encapsulated Mars’ illustrious career—he has sold over 150 million records worldwide and won sixteen Grammy Awards. Fans enjoyed live renditions of Mars’ greatest hits, including “24K Magic,” “Locked Out of Heaven,” and “Uptown Funk,” alongside newer favorites such as “Risk It All” and “I Just Might.” The show's production was just as impressive, featuring a horn section, tightly choreographed dance sequences, and pyrotechnics that lit up the New England sky.
Dasha Johnson ’27, who attended the concert on September 6, admitted that though she “did not know about half of the songs,” the night was still “one to remember.” “The vibe of the concert was really good, and Bruno Mars made it a good performance for anyone to enjoy, no matter if you knew the song or not,” she said, adding that the show was enjoyable “for every generation and age.” Johnson attended with two friends and noticed a strong theme consistent among the crowd. Since this was Mars’s The Romantic Tour, Johnson noted that the audience was “mainly couples, which was pretty sweet to see.” Alisha Xu ’27, who went with her mother, echoed this observation, but also noted that many were there with family, an anecdote that highlighted the breadth of Mars’s target audience. As a veteran of Boston-area concerts, having seen Kendrick Lamar and SZA at Gillette and Lorde, Clairo, and Alice Phoebe Lou at smaller venues in the Greater Boston area, Johnson said Mars “stood out” for his live band. Contrasting Mars’s set with Lorde’s more electronic format, Johnson found that the native Hawaiian’s performance was “instrumental.” Her favorite moments came from the quieter, more sensitive piano ballads, particularly “Talking to the Moon.”
Xu, who was there “mostly for the nostalgia,” didn’t “resonate with [Mars’s] newer albums as much [she] does with his older songs, but [she] think[s] that’s the case with most people in the audience.” Xu also noted how thoroughly fans embraced the unofficial dress code of a red-and-black color palette, retro-Latin flair, and rose accessories: “Almost everyone I saw was wearing a combination of those colors, and it made everyone look coherent.”
The setlist swung between high-tension songs and slower songs like the piano ballads Johnson mentioned, creating a dramatic, excitement-filled atmosphere that ended with “Uptown Funk,” followed shortly by an encore of “Dance with Me.” However, the opening was just as unforgettable, as Gabi Ramos ’28, who attended on the first night, seated a few rows up to the left of the stage, emphasized. For Ramos, who described the experience as her “dream concert,” the standout moment came before Mars even sang a note. Mars started the concert with a prayer, which Ramos described as “pretty cool,” and she applauded Mars for being “confident enough to start his show with a prayer.” Noting that a strong start to the concert “makes people want to stay,” Ramos also underlined the “hype” that the openers, Anderson .Paak (as DJ Pee Wee) and RAYE, induced. Ramos also enjoyed the event's more flamboyant moments, such as when gold confetti rained down during “Locked Out of Heaven” and “everyone was jumping” near the end. Asked whether Mars is her favorite artist, Ramos conceded that though Mars is not her favorite artist overall, he is her favorite “when performed live” because of how much of a “great performer” he is.
For Milton students considering a trip to Gillette for future concerts, Johnson strongly recommends live concerts but advises to “plan for three hours of travel time on the way back,” due to the typical amount of traffic. The Romantic Tour will continue across North America this fall before heading back to Europe and Asia, concluding in Goyang, South Korea, in May of 2027.