REVIEW: 5SOS packs TD Garden for an unforgettable night of pop-rock storytelling

5 Seconds of Summer brings “Everyone’s A Star” World Tour to Boston

ALEENA BROWN, Sports Editor

June 11, 2026

REVIEW: 5SOS packs TD Garden for an unforgettable night of pop-rock storytelling

Everybody remembers their first concert — and if your first live music experience began by walking into TD Garden for 5 Seconds of Summer’s Everyone’s a Star tour, you may have set an impossibly high bar for every live show to follow.

Multi-platinum pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer (or 5SOS, for short) brought their 89-stop tour to Boston this past week and did nothing but impress. Over 12,000 fans packed the Garden for the show, which both celebrated the past and showcased the present (and future) of the band.

If you’ve been to an every-day, average concert, you could expect an artist moving song-to-song. Maybe they’ll throw in some crowd work in-between, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

But for 5SOS, the show’s theatrical structure serves as not just a unique experience, but a brilliant piece of storytelling. Rather than leaning on a standard setlist, the band utilized a dynamic narrative format that kept the audience guessing, complete with skits and customized video interludes between each “act”. The concert features six of these acts — The Peak, The Fall, The Yearning, The Breakup, The Rise, and The Beginning.

Opening the show crammed into the back seat of a limousine, the band sip Boston’s own Samuel Adams beer before launching into the first verse of “NOT OK.” But right before the track kicks off, a dramatic skit plays, boldly claiming that this stop would be their last show ever — happening at the band’s absolute peak.

5 Seconds of Summer shared their plan to take over the city of Boston. (Aleena Brown)

5SOS’s non-music segments were the most popular of the night — and, admittedly, of the whole tour. Mid-way through “The Fall,” the band presented their step-by-step plan on “becoming a star in Boston.” It began with step one: become one with the crowd, during which lead singer Luke Hemmings hyped up the audience and let “the Boston spirit” take over. Step two of the PowerPoint, entitled “drop some lore,” revisits fandom-specific references and memes from across 5SOS’s career. Boston’s lore drop featured a video from 2023 of Hemmings pronouncing Massachusetts as Mashed Potatoes, reviving a decade’s old joke from the beginning of the band’s career. The third and most iconic step of the slideshow was the “become a local” segment, which showcased 5SOS’s strategy for “taking over” Boston. The band documented their adventures around the city, from befriending squirrels in Boston Common and revisiting a local lobster shack to stealing Chris Evans‘s Captain America shield. Drummer Ashton Irwin then put his Boston knowledge to the test, rattling off local slang such as bubbler, wicked “smaht,” and even bang-a-uey — a term the rest of the band quickly argued belonged to Australia.

One of the biggest highlights was the fan-voted surprise song, a feature that perfectly encapsulates what makes Everyone’s a Star feel so personal. Before the concert, attendees could vote between four songs via a QR code displayed on-screen. The winning choice — “Red Desert” from CALM — was revealed through a “Deal or No Deal”-inspired segment, prompting one of the loudest reactions of the night. While the song itself was a treat for longtime fans, the voting element reinforced a recurring theme throughout the show: the audience wasn’t just watching the concert, they were actively shaping it.

A clip of lead singer Luke Hemmings during one of the mid-act video segments. (Aleena Brown)

The show’s theatricality peaked in Act IV, “The Breakup,” where the concert transformed from entertaining to genuinely compelling. An on-screen skit depicted the band crashing under the pressures of the music industry, dramatizing themes that sit at the heart of their latest album. Rather than feeling like a gimmick, the storyline gave emotional weight to the show’s structure. The fictional breakup became the perfect catalyst for introducing each member’s solo material, allowing the audience to see not just 5SOS as a band, but the individual artists that make it up. Hemmings returned alone to perform his solo song “Starting Line,” followed by Irwin’s “Have U Found What Ur Looking For?,” bassist Calum Hood’s “Don’t Forget You Love Me,” and guitarist Michael Clifford’s “enough.”

Following the fictional split, the band’s on-screen reconciliation paved the way for the final act, appropriately titled “The Beginning.” This full-circle moment saw the boys diving deep into their catalog, treating long-time fans to early career favorites like “English Love Affair” and the beautifully raw “Jet Black Heart.”

The final stretch of the night delivered a two-part encore that beautifully summed up the band’s journey. 5SOS surprised the arena by marching through the crowd with the Bruins’ Blades and the Celtics’ Lucky before reclaiming the stage for the triumphant title track, “Everyone’s a Star!” They finished the night with their most popular song, “Youngblood,” transforming TD Garden into a massive, deafening singalong.

So, would I recommend attending the Everyone’s A Star tour?

Absolutely.

A photo of my outfit for the EAS tour (Aleena Brown)

Vocally, Hemmings delivered one of the strongest performances of the evening. His voice remained consistent throughout the nearly two-hour show, effortlessly shifting between the softer, more vulnerable moments of tracks like “I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep Again” and the explosive energy of the band’s rock-leaning anthems. Meanwhile, Hood, Clifford, and Irwin each had moments to shine, proving that 5SOS remains a true band rather than simply a frontman-focused project.

What makes Everyone’s a Star stand out, however, is its commitment to rewarding longtime fans while remaining accessible to newcomers. Deep-cut references, inside jokes, and career-spanning callbacks delighted dedicated fans, but the show’s central narrative — the rise, fall, and reinvention of a band chasing stardom — gave every audience member something to follow.

On a personal note, me and my father sat in the 15th row of Loge 3 in TD Garden, perfectly placing us close enough to see the full stage/screens without comprising our view of the band themselves. While I do wish that our seats were lower and closer, beggars can’t be choosers. The tickets, which I purchased during the presale, cost $247.80 after taxes and Ticketmaster’s other fees. While the costs are significantly higher now (depending on your proximity to the stage), seeing this tour is 100% worth it.

5 Seconds of Summer waves to the crowd and bows at the end of the show. (Aleena Brown)

Coming from someone who’s never been to a concert before, the Everyone’s A Star tour was the perfect introduction to live music. Being surrounded by fans of all ages (and I mean it; I saw a girl that had to be less than seven years old at one point, as well as a older woman that told me she was in her 70s) and backgrounds, it felt less like an exclusive club and more like a massive, welcoming community. As someone who’s been a fan of 5SOS for over five years, the chance to experience the band that got me through my early teenage years while being surrounded by such a dedicated fanbase was nothing short of surreal. Seeing the songs that served as the soundtrack to my own growing up performed with such theatrical scale, alongside thousands of people who felt the exact same connection, made the entire night feel full-circle.

By the time confetti filled TD Garden during the final act, it was clear why 5SOS continues to sell out arenas more than a decade into their career. The Everyone’s a Star! Tour is funny, ambitious, nostalgic, and above all entertaining. As a first concert, it felt almost unfair — setting a standard that any future show of mine will struggle to match. In an era where many concerts feel interchangeable, 5SOS delivered an experience that felt uniquely their own, leaving Boston audiences feeling like stars themselves.