Concert reviews

The pop star’s family and friends cheered her on in the audience.

Meghan Trainor received a warm welcome at her Mansfield concert, the eleventh stop on her 26-show Timeless Tour, at the Xfinity Center in her home state on Friday night.

Surrounded by friends and family on stage and in the audience, the Grammy-winning artist played a mix of her fans’ favorite songs and new songs from her sixth album “Timeless” – more than ten years after the release of her hit single “All About That Bass.”

Trainor spoke proudly of her Nantucket roots and pointed to many of her friends who came out in the crowd to cheer her on. Even one of Trainor’s teachers, who taught her the periodic table, was in attendance.

“A lot of my friends that I grew up with are still here today. It’s crazy,” Trainor said. “It’s so cool.”

Wearing a Red Sox jersey, the pop star’s brother, Ryan Trainor, opened the show by pumping up the crowd before taking the stage and performing loud pop hits like Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Charli XCX’s “Apple,” which went down well with the audience of teenage girls.

As Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” began playing, Trainor and her husband Daryl Sabara, known for her role as Juni Cortez in the “Spy Kids” film series, took the stage and jumped up and down to the pop song. The crowd, many of them dressed in blue to match the cover of Trainor’s “Timeless” album, screamed at the top of their lungs.

But Trainor’s performance was short-lived – it took more than an hour for her performance to begin.

The theme of self-love was evident throughout the show, starting with the opening act of social media influencer and Berklee graduate Chris Olsen, who came on stage in black high heels holding an “I love Chris Olsen” sign.

But before he got there, a clip was shown on the screen showing Olsen at the “Celebrity Best Friend Audition” where Olsen was ultimately chosen for the role.

Before the concert, Olsen described his relationship with Trainor as “an uncomplicated friendship, but also a partnership,” he told Boston.com.

All jokes aside, Olsen assured concertgoers that Trainor is “a true friend. I love her.”

Olsen, who described his performance as “gay karaoke,” sang along to iconic songs like “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and “Part of Your World.” The Tiktok star boasted about studying at Berklee and being a “theater kid,” and pitched a new theater show.

“I think we need a Meghan Trainor musical,” he said.

Rapper Paul Russell, best known for his 2023 single “Lil Boo Thang,” performed between Olsen and Trainor, but his pop-rap style was less well received by the young teenage girls in the audience.

When it was time for Trainor to perform, she began her show by appearing on a podium wearing a sparkly bodysuit and high boots and singing “Mother.” In the same way, Trainor followed the song with some motherly advice.

“We’re going to be on our best behavior, we’re going to scream, we’re going to dance, we’re going to cry, we’re going to wave if anyone needs help, we’re going to drink a lot of water,” she said. “We’re going to have the best night ever.”

Trainor’s outfit wasn’t the only thing that was dazzling — she wore a matching microphone, eye shadow and earbuds, and even drank from a glittery water cup and strummed a sparkly ukulele.

“I have a lot of crystals, so I have to play kind of weird,” she said as she strummed and sang “Title.”

Trainor’s team of six backup dancers kept the crowd in high spirits throughout the show. Trainor played her set well, mixing her lesser-known music and slower songs in between her big hits.

This order captivated the audience and allowed her to optimally engage the crowd as she sang her most popular songs such as “Lips are Movin,” “Dear Future Husband,” and “All About That Bass.”

In addition to self-love, family played a big role in the concert. Trainor’s husband came back on stage to dance with her to “Doin’ It All For You,” and a montage video of their children was shown toward the end of the show.

Trainor ended her performance with the song “Made You Look” as silver confetti, matching her glittery outfit and accessories, fell on the crowd.

“Boston, I love you so much,” Trainor said. “I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.”

Setlist for Meghan Trainor at Xfinity Center in Mansfield on September 20, 2024

Mother

Doesn’t it look easy for me?

Lips move

No excuses

Crush

Best friend

Better when I dance

title

Forget how to love

Superwoman

As if I would lose you

Dear future husband

Crowded room

I do everything for you

criminal

Everything about this bass

Wave

genetics

NO

I hate it here

Me too

Oops

To the moon

That’s how it was

Timeless

I would like to thank

Made you look