The Rave presents… Welcome to Paradise tour with Cody Simpson and special guest, Jessica Jarell
The Rave in Milwaukee, WI has been a spotlight for many young and upcoming new music of genre. Before Justin Bieber made his huge splash in the tween market, he played at The Rave so it seemed fitting for the next upcoming young star, 15 year old Cody Simpson to return as a headliner tonight. Having played last year at The Rave in a co-headline with Greyson Chance, tonight gave Simpson a chance to shine alone.
Opening act Jessica Jarell gave a solid performance with the 30 minute set she had and got the crowd pumped up. Jarell is no stranger to opening for the next big thing as she opened for Bieber in the past.
After a 15 minute set change, Simpson came out to a James Bond theme and dressed like a character in Men in Black with shades on. Every time he lowered his shades the girls in the crowd were screaming, opening with, Good as it Gets off the album, Coast to Coast EP and a new song he has been performing since last year, I Found You. He broke the evening down into 3 sections as he played for 1 ¼ hour. The second section had a more laid back feel as Simpson played the acoustic guitar and as he took off his jacket the girls went crazy, screaming their love to him and several banners proclaiming their love as well.
Simpson played a medley of Crazy but True/Don’t Cry Your Heart Out, Angel, and Ay Na Na that featured Jessica Jarell who came back on stage to sing with him and will be on his newest CD when it’s released. He asked the crowd if they wanted to dance and if they wanted to see him do his two-step as he preformed the song, All Day which gave Simpson a chance to show off his dance skills. He also showed off his keyboard skills as he played alone, Evenings in London and a brand new song, So Listen.
He thanked the fans for all their support and Milwaukee for showing him so much love. He invited one of the girls in the crowd as he serenaded to her, Not Just You; you could see the joy on the girl’s face and after as she ran back to her friends, to share a lifetime memory for her.
The night ended with his biggest hits to date - On My Mind and the hit he sang with Flo-rida, IYIYI which had Simpson doing the rap parts himself as he capped off the night. This show was very family friendly and nothing to offend anyone in the crowd, which is nice to see families come out for a night of music together.
He will be touring till the end of Feb and you can check out the dates and his website at http://www.codysimpson.com/shows
All Photos provided by Peter Lizano
