FINNEAS Was Under His Own Spotlight at Fillmore

Photo by Muriel Margaret

Review by Laura Buhman

An unseasonably warm week in Minneapolis brought even more excitement to the Fillmore for a sold-out show. It was the long-awaited Minneapolis premiere of FINNEAS. With three solo studio albums under his belt, we were primed and ready to finally be part of the tour route. 

Opening the show was Los Angeles rock band Bad Suns. It’s always a good sign when the room is packed to the back doors during the opener. I mean it. I could barely get in the doors of the Fillmore. 

Maybe I spend too much time in different scenes, but I was overtaken by nostalgia while experiencing this band for the first time. I hadn’t felt his way in a long time. It felt like seeing a new band on Warped Tour in the absolute best way. It was a pop rock masterclass. It’s not to say that Bad Suns is a brand new band - they’ve got 15 years under their belts. Either way, I was pleased to see how many in the crowd were singing along and giving them all the love.  I’m certainly a new fan.

A lengthy changeover left plenty of time for fans to refresh their many, many drinks and share memories of seeing FINNEAS’ sister Billie Eilish on her most recent tour with each other. People were in this for a good time. Patrick O’Connell - father of FINNEAS and Billie - got a huge amount of love as he helped set the stage himself during this time. It really is heartwarming to see how supportive this family is of one another. 

Finally, it was time for FINNEAS to take the stage. I won’t lie - I had some nerves about the vibe of this show. Not because FINNEAS isn’t an incredible musician in his own right, but because I wanted so much for the show to be about him. All of those fears melted away as he sat down at his keyboard under a full set of spotlights and started “Starfucker” and I heard the chorus of fans singing every single word. The band joined in midway through the song and the energy swelled. This continued for the entire 20 song show. 

He shouted “You wanna dance, Minneapolis?!” As he strapped on his guitar for “Lotus Eater.” Every hand was up in the crowd picking up flashes of green, pink, and blue. It felt like being in a tour film with everyone jumping and dancing. It was so fun to see him take on the frontman role, especially during “Sweet Cherries” as he worked the crowd with just a mic. It was electric! 

One of the most exciting parts of the show was the hugely talented backing band consisting of Marinelli, Miles Morris, Aron Forbes, Ricky Gourmet, and Lucy Healy. They all got frequent shout-outs and cheers from the audience and FINNEAS himself. My favorite was Miles Morris’ pummeling drum solo during “What’s It Gonna Take to Break Your Heart.”

“A Concert Six Months From Now” explores the feeling of losing touch with music you once loved because of the pain of growing apart from someone who shared that love with you. Then coming back around to it when they come back into your life and reliving the beauty of those memories and wanting to make more. 

Towards the end of the show, there were two covers that hit me in a big way. The first was Ashe’s “Till Forever Falls Apart” which tore into me; especially after an intense performance of “The Kids Are All Dying” which was an intense reminder of the violence and corruption we are facing in 2025. This romantic apocalyptic song felt comforting, somehow. Stunning. The other was a cover of The Zombies “Time of the Season,” which is, to me, one of the best songs of the 1960’s. It was executed to perfection. Just modern enough to sound fresh, while preserving the original spirit. Especially with Lucy Healy’s incredible backing vocals. 

This show was a showcase of the range FINNEAS has musically, and how much fun it is to perform it with talented friends that he enjoys sharing the stage with. The songs are all balanced with classic elements and innovative and creative surprises that made the entire show impossible to look away from. The lyrics have so much to say about the life that he has led without being hard to relate to. Not a lulling moment in sight. It was truly a stunning night of music.