BNL

Blossom Music Center

Cuyahoga Falls, OH

by Robert McCune

CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH – August 1, 2025 – The Last Summer on Earth Tour 2025 rolled into the Blossom Music Center on a warm Friday night, delivering one of the season’s best outdoor summer concerts. Headliners Barenaked Ladies, joined by Sugar Ray and Fastball, turned the Cuyahoga Falls venue into a high-energy nostalgia trip full of ‘90s and 2000s hits, wild cover songs, and a healthy dose of comedy.

Fans packed both the pavilion and the lawn for this Ohio concert, eager for a night of upbeat pop-rock that felt like a mix between a music festival and a backyard party.

Fastball Opens with Austin Swagger and 90s Hits

The night began with Fastball, the power-pop trio from Austin, Texas. They wasted no time grabbing the Blossom crowd with a cover of ZZ Top’s “Tush,” a nod to their home state, before diving into their signature 1998 hit “Out of My Head” and the chart-topping “The Way.” The early set had fans singing along while the sun dipped behind the amphitheater, setting the perfect tone for an Ohio summer concert.

Sugar Ray Turns Blossom into a California Beach Party

If Fastball warmed up the crowd, Sugar Ray cranked the thermostat to full summer heat. Frontman Mark McGrath — still rocking his trademark Hollywood hair and a crisp white jacket — hit the stage with “Someday” and “Every Morning,” instantly transporting the audience back to the late 90s radio era.

McGrath kept the energy high with “When It’s Over” and “Falls Apart,” then leaned into his reality TV host persona for a spontaneous game of Don’t Forget the Lyrics. Pulling from the 90s and early 2000s, he nailed Ginuwine’s “Pony” and Ugly Kid Joe’s “Everything About You” before closing with their biggest hit, “Fly,” mashed perfectly with Sublime’s “What I Got.”

Barenaked Ladies Prove They Still Own the Stage

When Barenaked Ladies finally took the stage, the Blossom Music Center crowd was buzzing. The setlist opened with a nod to The Beach Boys (“Wouldn’t It Be Nice”) before launching into the band’s own catalog.

They paid moving tributes to two music legends lost this summer — Brian Wilson with “Love & Mercy” following their classic “Brian Wilson,” and Ozzy Osbourne with a thunderous take on Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”

From there, the night turned into classic Barenaked Ladies chaos: Kevin Hearn played Van Halen’s “Jump” on accordion, the band stitched together a genre-bending medley of Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’Em,” Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” Alphaville’s “Forever Young,” and Dan Hill’s “Sometimes When We Touch.”

Bassist Jim Creeggan’s upright bass solo morphed into a Muppets medley (“Mahna Mahna” and The Muppet Show Theme), complete with full character impressions. Somehow, The Sound of Music transitioned into AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell,” with drummer Tyler Stewart and Ed Robertson swapping instruments.

The Fan-Favorite Hits and Setlist Highlights

Of course, fans got the Barenaked Ladies classics they came to hear:

  • “The Old Apartment”
  • “Pinch Me”
  • “Light Up My Room”
  • “If I Had $1,000,000”
  • The Big Bang Theory theme song

Between songs, Robertson kept the crowd laughing with stories about turning old music award plaques into bowling trophies, elevator mishaps with slipping pants, and playful jabs at aging rockers. The only tense moment came when a fan displayed a shirt hinting at a Stephen Page reunion; Robertson quickly shut it down with a polite “Everyone’s happy.”

A Perfect Summer Encore for Ohio Concertgoers

For the encore, all three bands returned for what Robertson called the “Canadian national anthem” — Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69.” Trading verses between Robertson, McGrath, and Fastball’s Miles Zuniga and Tony Scalzo, it was the perfect send-off for the Ohio audience.

Closing with the line:

“We lied. These are the best days of our lives.”

Robertson summed up the night perfectly. For fans in Cuyahoga Falls, this stop on the Last Summer on Earth Tour 2025 wasn’t just a concert — it was a reminder that great songs, great bands, and a summer night under the stars never go out of style.

Rob McCune is Every_Thing_After_Photo on Instagram, where he shares his concert photography and reviews, as well as clips from his “Every.Thing.After” podcast, with interviews with musicians and bands

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