Andrew McMahon In the Wilderness wasn’t on tour with O.A.R. but was asked to join in on the fun this past Saturday at Merriweather when O.A.R. rounded out their summer tour. I’ve managed to miss Andrew McMahon the last few times he’s been in D.C., so I was very excited to hear that he was on the line-up. Everyone I know who has seen McMahon perform has told me that he puts on a great show and Saturday was absolutely no exception!

A piano, peppered with stickers, sat center stage while palm trees and a beach umbrella set the backdrop. The band took the stage first, moments before Andrew appeared – all smiles – and took a seat at the piano. He opened with “So Close” from the 2017 release, Zombies on Broadway. While the song started out slowly, within minutes, McMahon was up and bounding about the stage. His energy exploded throughout his 11-song set and by the middle of his performance, McMahon was surfing the crowd on a giant unicorn float!

Andrew McMahon performed a mix of songs, including two from his project, Jack Mannequin, “The Mix Tape” and “Dark Blue”. He also took some time to promote the Dear Jack Foundation. He admitted that he didn’t want to take too much time from the music; however, he wanted to share his fight and recovery from leukemia back in 2005. This foundation was set in place to help support teens who are fighting cancer – a worthwhile charity to take time from his set to promote.

Towards the end of the set, Andrew took to the crowd and made his way around, hugging and shaking hands with his fans while singing “Synesthesia”, the single from his 2013 EP, The Pop Underground. He ended his set with “Cecilia and the Satellite”, probably one of his most popular songs and obvious fan favorite as everyone in the crowd sang along. You can enjoy this song, recorded live from the show, in the video below.

It was such a great performance. Between the quality of musicianship and Andrew’s delightful stage presence, it was the perfect way to set the stage for O.A.R.’s homecoming performance. I am thrilled to have finally seen Andrew McMahon live, and I will definitely be looking out for a headlining show the next time he makes his way to the area!

Enjoy photos from Andrew McMahon In the Wilderness performing at Merriweather Post Pavilion on September 7th. All photos copyright and courtesy of Shantel Mitchell Breen.