Concert Reviews

The New England native had his young, mostly female crowd swooning during his rescheduled show at MGM Music Hall Wednesday night.

“I made it home baby. I made it home,” Tucker Pillsbury said with a content smile.

Pillsbury, who goes by the moniker ROLE MODEL, is known for his soft, warm melodies about love, but falling for someone is relatively new to him. 

He released his first album “Rx” in 2022, reflecting on his romance with ex Emma Chamberlain — she was his first girlfriend and first love. Before then, Pillsbury, now 27, had been somewhat of a player, but this new relationship changed his worldview and musical direction. 

Pillsbury’s latest record, “Kansas Anymore,” is a nostalgic breakup album about his split from Chamberlain and the aching feeling of missing his hometown in Maine. The record initially went in an ’80s and synth pop direction, but he abandoned it in favor of a blend of bedroom pop, folk, Americana, and indie rock. 

Pillsbury played MGM Music Hall at Fenway on April 23 to close out his “No Place Like Tour.” The performance made up for his previous Boston date on March 16 when he lost his voice and canceled the show. 

Many audience members had to wait in a long line to transfer their tickets from the previous venue to MGM, so Pillsbury took the stage later than scheduled. The house lights went down as Sabrina Carpenter’s “Bed Chem” blasted through the speakers. The audience screeched and cheered as Pillsbury walked on. 

He opened with an energetic “Writing’s on the Wall,” about ignoring warning signs in a relationship. A warm golden glow cast down on Pillsbury as he jammed on his acoustic guitar. The audience jumped and sang along.

Pillsbury created a warm and cozy atmosphere, almost like playing your favorite songs around a campfire with your friends. His soft rock wrapped the audience in a comforting blanket of love songs and mostly upbeat breakup tunes. 

He apologized for canceling the first show and made sure everyone knew how thankful he was that they made their way back to see him.

“This is now a perfect ending to ‘No Place Like Tour,’” he said. “I wouldn’t want to spend it anywhere else.”

Pillsbury played the self-deprecating yet romantic “Scumbag,” rocking by the mic stand with bursting strums. Any small movement, like slightly rolling his body back, led the audience to scream. He captivated the boy-crazy fans like a fourth Jonas Brother.

During his astrologically informed love song “Oh, Gemini,” a fan said, “He’s just a boy,” which seems to be his charm. He’s an emotionally in-tune man capable of writing about his feelings, and his fans eat it up.

On “The Dinner,” he made a sweet and heartbreaking reference to clicking his heels three times like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” to go back home from LA. He also referenced his 2024 album title, singing, “We’re not in Kansas anymore” about the reality of living in the City of Angels “where the common sense is common as a nose job.” It’s a bittersweet, nostalgic feeling that every homesick person can relate to. Pillsbury encouraged the audience to sing along and mouthed “I’m home,” feeling the comfort of his East Coast crowd. 

He covered The 1975’s “Somebody Else,” but opted for a cheery acoustic version instead of the original booming, synth-driven track. He sang “Our love has gone cold/ You’re intertwining your soul with somebody else” with a bright optimism that brought a strangely uplifting feeling to the usually depressing song. 

Pillsbury spotted a sign inviting him to a school dance and politely declined, pointing out that he was a good bit older than much of the crowd: “I’m a grown man in this Brandy Melville.” 

He turned the venue into a party with his hit “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.” Pillsbury always brings up an audience member to be his Sally, and this time he chose his mom. They danced around and twirled, and she landed a kiss on his cheek before leaving the stage. 

Pillsbury closed out the night with a high energy “Deeply Still in Love,” rocking a pink cowboy hat from an audience member. 

“I’m sorry, but I’m deeply still in love/ In love with you,” he sang, ending his tour with a bright grin and a joyful, dancing crowd.

Setlist for ROLE MODEL at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, April 23, 2025

• Writing’s on the Wall
• Look at That Woman
• Scumbag
• Oh, Gemini
• Superglue
• The Dinner
• Frances
• Slut Era Interlude
• Somebody Else (The 1975 cover)
• The Longest Goodbye
• Old Recliners
• Slipfast
• that’s just how it goes
• Some Protector
• Compromise
• blind
• Sally, When the Wine Runs Out
• Deeply Still in Love

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