Since kicking off the Moonshine Jungle tour in June-with opening acts including Ellie Goulding and Fitz & the Tantrums-Mars has been keeping audiences dancing in various arenas across North America through the summer. Then, following a performance at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on Sept. 21, he traveled to the United Kingdom and Europe for a two-month arena tour
Co-manager Creed says playing arenas was on the list of goals he and Williams Morris Endeavor music division partner John Marx had for this year after the groundwork had been laid in smaller venues on behalf of “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” — which turned out to be underplays that worked to their advantage now. “We probably left a lot of tickets on the table with the first album,” he says of opportunities offered then to play larger venues than theaters and ballrooms. “But it was so we could come bigger this time.
“Something happens when Bruno performs on TV and in concert,” Creed continues. “Having poured himself into his songwriting, then singing and recording the songs, they flow through his veins-it’s his pulse. And at the end of the day, that’s what people want: a connection with someone speaking the words they wish they could say. And on the other side, Bruno and the band are having a blast onstage, so you can’t not have a good time. It’s an infectious environment, the show you can’t miss.”
Smeezingtons partner Lawrence adds, “There’s nothing contrived about Bruno. He’s a genuine person who’s extremely passionate but also likes to be silly and cracks. And that’s what sucks people into this special kind of energy. It harkens back to Earth Wind & Fire and Michael Jackson when people came to a show and got a show.”