Concert Reviews

The funk and alt pop act, who got started in Boston as students at Berklee College of Music, brought things home in fine style.

By Darin Zullo

November 22, 2025 | 12:30 PM

4 minutes to read

Funk and alt pop band Ripe made its triumphant return to MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Nov. 21 for its Get Sweet Tour. The venue has a special place in the band’s legacy for hosting the show that yielded their first live album in 2023, and Ripe came back around with heightened energy.

“I thought, having played here once, I would be ready for it the second time, but I’m even less [expletive] ready,” lead vocalist Robbie Wulfsohn confessed to the audience. “You’re blowing all my expectations out of the water.”

Ripe formed in 2011 as a six-piece group when its original members were students at Berklee College of Music. The band is now based in Los Angeles, but Boston hasn’t been forgotten as the city that raised it.

“We spent 11 years in Boston,” Wulfsohn told the crowd. “We [expletive] love it.”

Ripe came out in style, wearing matching custom green and white varsity jackets. Wasting no time getting the adoring Boston audience going, the band immediately launched into “Letting Go,” the lead track off their latest album, “Play the Game.” 

Wulfsohn and guitarist Jon Becker took full advantage of the wide-open stage as they ran, tripped, and spun around. The celebratory vibes were further emphasized by a healthy dose of flashing spotlights and on-stage smoke.

After invoking a little nostalgia with “Flipside,” a track off the band’s debut album, “Joy in the Wild Unknown,” the crowd’s overwhelming enthusiasm led Wulfsohn to take a step back and take it all in. He shook his head, seemingly in disbelief that he was standing on that stage despite having done it before.

“Alright Boston, at the risk of making a very talkative person very quiet, thank you for having us back,” Wulfsohn said as the band brought things back together with “Beige Suit.”

“Play the Game” got plenty of time in the spotlight with the tracks “Cheap Seats,” “Strangers,” and “Try Not to Look,” but Ripe didn’t shy away from the material that got the band there. Wulfsohn made sure to check in with the audience, asking permission to play “an old song” — and sometimes, an “even older” one.

No matter what Ripe was into, the crowd was down for it. Even so, they made sure not to overlook their 2023 album “Bright Blues,” which they were promoting the last time they played MGM.

Amid a slew of self-penned fan-favorites, the band had some fun playing around with a few classic rock hits. Wulfsohn had a chance to show off his vocal range even further with partial covers of The Police’s “Message in a Bottle” and Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.”

Ripe finished off its main set with a few of the band’s most popular tracks, including “Downward” from “Joy in the Wild Unknown” and “Pretty Dirty (In the Fading Light),” a cut from the band’s first EP, “Produce the Juice,” which has proved to have some serious staying power.

“Pretty Dirty” could have been the band’s euphoric finale if its members wanted it to be, but Ripe wasn’t done with Boston just yet. Taking a moment to truly appreciate the night, they came back with the sentimental title track from “Play the Game.”

While “Play the Game” still had a good beat, its gentler nature made for a reflective moment. Combined with the adoring audience’s devotion, it was enough to bring Wulfsohn to tears.

After recovering from the emotional moment with “Settling,” Ripe brought back opener Allen Stone to close the night out with “Goon Squad,” the first song to bring the band some wider recognition. Wulfsohn explained that Stone has inspired him ever since he first saw him perform at Royale Boston during his freshman year at Berklee.

Stone was all for it, bringing his own kind of energy back out as the crowd sang along. It was a beautiful moment of support between artists as Wulfsohn and Stone built off of each other’s vibes, briefly becoming greater than the sum of their parts.

Ripe may have been surprised to see such a strong turnout for their second MGM show, but if the band continues the artistic growth that was on full display Friday night, it’s sure to set the bar even higher the third time around.

Audience members were just as in step with Stone’s soul and R&B-infused set as they were with Ripe’s. Beginning with some slower acoustic playing, Stone masterfully raised the energy until he and his backing band were in full swing.

With dance moves galore and plenty of fun vocal inflections, Stone brought a playful whimsicality and true sense of joy to his songs. The crowd knew just as many of Stone’s lyrics as they did Ripe’s, and his gratitude shone throughout the whole performance.

Canadian disco group and fellow opener The Free Label got the party started with an infectious groove and look that was all their own. The blend of saxophone, keytar, guitars, and talkbox vocals conjured a funkiness that made it impossible to stay still.

The band was a standout with their disco-inspired outfits and choreographed dancing, and it gave the crowd a bold, rambunctious taste of what was to come. Blazing through their 30-minute set, The Free Label didn’t just leave Ripe’s audience warmed up — it left them fired up.

Setlist for Ripe at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Nov. 21, 2025

• Letting Go
• Flipside
• Beige Suit
• Say It to Me
• Peacocks
• Cheap Seats
• Message in a Bottle (partial The Police cover)
• Young Tom Rose
• Strangers
• First Time Feeling
• Brendan
• Follow Through
• Try Not to Look 
• Another One Bites the Dust (partial Queen cover)
• Little Lighter
• Downward
• Pretty Dirty (In the Fading Light)

Encore

• Play the Game
• Settling
• Goon Squad

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