theSoCal Live Music Review Johnny SoCal

7 albums, 2 ½ hours, a circular stage that rotates, 81,000 of my closest friends, and 1 epic performance from the front row.
Ed Sheeran's Mathematics Tour came to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood CA so I had to attend. This was a ticket I purchased almost a year ago to be sure I didn't miss it and I am so glad I did. 
After watching the documentary The Sum Of It All on Disney+ the songs Ed sung on this setlist were even more impactful and more meaningful when heard live. You could clearly see the emotion on his face during a couple of them. 
Press play to hear all about the 4th or 5th time with one of my must-see artist and this incredible show Ed Sheeran put on at SoFi. 

I watched the documentary The Sum of It All recently and want to dive all into it. Ed Sheeran is one of my favorite artists and I am going to see him in a few months so this documentary dropped at the perfect time.
Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All is a 4-part docuseries released on May 3, 2023 on Disney+, a few days before Subtract. Like his previous documentary Songwriter, it goes behind the scenes making of the album Subtract but also includes Ed's private struggles during 2022 which lead to the album being made, like turning 32, dealing with grief over the loss of his closest friend and SBTV founder, Jamal Edwards, fear for his wife, Cherry Seaborn with her tumour, the Shape of You court case and being a first time dad of two while struggling with depression and anxiety.
You should check this out even if you consider yourself a casual fan of Ed, it is a deep look into everything leading up to the writing of his latest album Subtract and the Mathematics tour. It is a good peek behind the curtain of an artist and a look into the personality of one the best singer/songwriters in the game today. 

It's 75 Hard Week in JohnnyBoy Studios!
Since starting the 75 Hard challenge, and likewise the 75 Hard Daily podcast, I have been rediscovering music I have not listened to for some time.Walking down the musical memory lane has been incredibly rewarding and has helped me to continue on this journey. 
In this episode I want to share some of those song that have helped me on my workouts, and the playlist I found to help with the daily reading! This was a pleasent side affect of going through the 75 Hard challenge and commiting myself to seeing it through to the end.
If you are thinking of starting the 75 Hard challenge check out the 75 Hard Daily podcast and the brand new 75 Hard landing page put together for 75 Hard Week.

Janet Jackson (Miss Jackson if you nasty) brought her Together Again tour to FivePoints Amphetheater in Irvine, California and it was everything I expected it to be.
For only having 4 background dancers, a live band, not touring in 3+ years, and being almost 60 years old this was an amazing show. 
Opened for by Ludacris who took us back to our high school days, I couldn't have asked for a more fun night.
Tune in to this episode where I dive all into being Together Again with Janet Jackson.

The only live show I saw in person in 2020 was Dermot Kennedy, and he was the first virtual concert I purchased durring the pandemic. When the Sondor Tour was announced I knew I wanted to be there and this was worth the price of admission.
With a VIP Meet N Greet ticket, an excitement that couldn't be contained, and the Sondor album on repeat we headed to the YouTube Theater to see Dermot play live and what an experice it was.
Tune in to hear all about it in this episode and also be sure to check out James Bradshaw and Eliza the two background singers who were incredible additions to Dermot's vocals!

Ok this episode is a little overdue but I still wanted to talk about Stagecoach 2023. The festival took place a little over a month ago from the time of this episode in Indio, California just after the Coachella festival in the same location.
This year's headliners were Luke Bryan, Kane Brown, and Chris Stapleton but there was so many other great acts performing as well. 
While I didn't attend the festival I did watch the live stream and there is plenty to talk about.
Tune in, subscribe, share with a friend as we dive all into Stagecoach 2023.