Over the past three years, Lauren Spencer Smith has experienced everything from devastating heartbreak to immense joy. Despite the extremes, the multi-platinum artist has emerged unshattered with her debut album, Mirror. Through 15 tracks, Lauren invites listeners to share in her journey.
In a recent press conference with 1824, Lauren reflected on what it means to share these stories and to see them resonate. “I think at the beginning of songwriting, I felt more like I was just writing to learn how to song write and write about my own life. It’s definitely turned more into feeling like I need to write the things I want to write about because I know people are going to relate to it, and I know it needs to be spoken about, so I think it’s really, really cool that people relate to it because it makes me feel like my songwriting has a purpose and that I’m here to make people feel less alone.”
That community that Lauren has built showed up for her at Boston’s Paradise Rock Club for the fourth stop of her Mirror Tour.
Opener Geena Fontanella got things started by rocking out to “Dylan’s Dad,” and an on-the-spot cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’.” Then, Australian crooner, Blake Rose, performed a “rather stripped back” acoustic set featuring his number one streamed song, “Lost.”
Both performers not only set the tone for the night, but also were integral to the making of the album and Lauren’s career. Geena helped to co-write most of Mirror, and Blake was Lauren’s inspiration when she first started out as a songwriter.
“Last time I was here, you were the loudest,” Lauren told the crowd as she started her set. Those Bostonians easily proved that observation to be true as they sang along to every word.
Her eighteen song set list included hits like “Finger Crossed,” as well as songs like “Hey” about the time she first met her boyfriend.
Lauren has had her share of “Narcissistic” exes that have made her feel unlovable, but “Too Hurt to Fall in Love” marks the moment that her boyfriend proved her wrong. “I never thought in a million years that someone would want to put in the effort to assure me,” she shared with the crowd.
As much as those fans have found themselves in Lauren’s stories, they’ve shown how they want to make her a part of theirs. During “This Part,” two couples got engaged. “I’m so honored you did it here,” she told the lovebirds.
Lauren’s gratitude isn’t just a shiny front; it is reflected in the way she sits at the edge of the stage to hold a fan’s hand and still remembers a fan’s name long after they’ve met.
She shared the story of a fan Laura who gave her a gift at one of her meet-and-greets. The gift included a fortune that read, “Please play “For Granted” on Tour.” which made her change her mind about omitting it from the setlist.
Other fun additions to the setlist included a cover of Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “All I Want,” another fan request.
By the end of the night, it was easy to forget that this was a performance and not a hangout with a lifelong best friend.
If we had another chance to catch Lauren Spencer Smith on tour, we would “do it all again”!
