Bruno Mars At Preakness Experience

 

Saturday night at the Preakness fest, I was able to check off a bucket list item by seeing Bruno Mars live. Despite the rain that began to pour just as his set was beginning, it was 1,000% worth it. In 45 minutes Bruno Mars backed by his crew The Hooligans, had the entire audience singing every word of every song, dancing in the field despite the muddy conditions, and overall having a good time after waiting all day to see him.

He opened with one of his biggest hits 24 K Magic, and closed with what probably is his biggest crossover hit Uptown Funk. He effortlessly danced across the stage, carefully avoiding the spots on the stage getting hit from the downpour. He played guitar so that he is a MUSICIAN and not just an artist. He has so many hits that it was probably difficult to curate his selection and cram into the limited set, and it's easy for us as fans to forget that he only has released 3 solo albums beginning with his debut 2010 album Doo Wops and Hooligans.

He showed love to all three of his albums performing hits such as Just The Way You Are and Marry You from his debut album. Locked Out Of Heaven  and one of my favorite Bruno songs which in my opinion is one of his most underrated songs Treasure and from his second album 2012's Unorthodox Jukebox. Along with the title track from his 2016 third album 24K Magic (hard to believe it's been almost 7 years since that album released), he also performed That's What I Like. Serenading the crowd while he played guitar he performed the 2010 Travie Mccoy hit Billionaire which he was featured on.

I personally wished he would have performed Finesse, but have no real qualms about the set list. If I would have had to stand in the rain for a 90 minute set from him, I would have. Even in the rain, his performance was just as entertaining and mesmerizing as any TV performance you've seen. He proved why he is a modern day musical legend. I'm gathering my coins to see a full length Bruno concert (his show tickets are quite pricey), and just like this time it will be well worth it.